Appeals court quashes ex-
MP’s bid to challenge
shariah show-cause order
The Court of Appeal holds that civil courts cannot hear cases from the shariah court.
The show-cause order was issued after Maria commented on a businessman’s divorce case.
Justice Mariana Yahaya, who chaired a three-judge panel, held that civil courts could not hear cases from the shariah court, and that the High Court had erred in granting leave in 2022 for Maria to commence a judicial review.
“The notice to show cause (issued by the shariah court) is not amenable to judicial review,” she said.
Other judges who sat with her were Justices Nazlan Ghazali and Azman Abdullah.
In her bid to initiate a judicial review, Maria had asked the High Court to quash a shariah court order on Oct 14, 2019 allowing businessman SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin to initiate contempt proceedings against her.
She claimed the order was made in bad faith.
Maria had issued a press statement on Sept 5, 2019, saying “Muslim women are still being discriminated (against) under Malaysia’s shariah legal system”.
She said the shariah court’s decision to sentence Faisal’s former wife, Emilia Hanafi, to seven days in prison for rescheduling his visitation dates with their children was a “grave injustice” and a “total disgrace to the judicial system”.
The shariah high court subsequently sentenced Maria to seven days’ jail for contempt of court on April 25, 2022.
Maria was represented by lawyers Rosli Dahlan, Nurul Hafidzah Hassan, and Zeti Zulfah Hassan @ Zulkifli, while senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly appeared for the government.
Rosli informed the court that they would seek leave at the Federal Court to appeal today’s decision.
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