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Court blocks Maips from intervening in Loh's divorce case

The Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (Maips) is now unable to access the three unilaterally converted children of Loh Siew Hong.

The civil court this afternoon dismissed the state religious body’s application to intervene in the divorce proceedings between Loh (above) and her Muslim-convert former husband.

Judge Evrol Mariette Peters ruled that Maips has failed to prove that it is an interested party in relation to the betterment of the children’s lives.

She reiterated that her ruling today would still be the same regardless of the religious status of the children.

The judge noted that in the event that the children’s conversion was done properly, Maips would still not be allowed to intervene because the body only has jurisdiction for Muslims in Perlis.

“The fact of the matter is that the children do not belong to the community in Perlis.

“They live in Selangor and their connection to Perlis is transitory as that is where they were taken to be converted,” Peters said.

The judge also said that the children are not orphans as they are now under the full custody and care of Loh, adding that Maips failed to prove that the single mother did not ensure her children still continue to receive religious education.

Maips to pay Loh RM8k

She noted that the state religious body had also failed to seek the views of the former husband in relation to the bid to vary Loh’s full custody order.

Peters emphasised that the civil family’s role to safeguard the interest of the children can be seen in the analogy of inviting guests into the family home.

“The application to seek leave (to intervene in Loh’s divorce proceedings is (equivalent of) asking the court (with Maips as the hypothetical guest) as a dinner host to enter the home and eventually sit at dinner with the family.

“The host here is the family court who has to be cautious of the guest that is invited to dinner as there are children in the house that needs to be protected

“If (the host) is cautious of the guest, then it is better not to allow them to enter as that not only would waste the time of the guest but also the host.

“My decision is even if the children are in fact Muslims, this (intervener) application (by Maips) must fail as the proposed intervener failed to show it is an interested person,” Peters ruled as Loh looked on from the public gallery.

The judge then ordered Maips to pay RM8,000 in costs to Loh.

Nagashwaran’s request

Maips previously filed for leave to intervene in the civil court matter so that it would have legal standing to seek to modify Loh’s custody order over her three children, who were converted into Islam by their father Muhammad Nagahswaran Muniandy, 35.

The state religious body was represented by counsel Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, while lawyers A Srimurugan and Shamsher Singh Thind acted for Loh.

Later in proceedings, Nagahswaran’s counsel Malcolm Fernandez told the court regarding their incarcerated client’s request to communicate with the children via video call.

The civil court granted full custody to the single mother on March 31 last year and decree nisi (to annul Loh’s marriage to Nagahswaran) on Sept 23 last year.

Fernandez said the application seeks to allow the father - currently serving a jail term in Machang, Kelantan - to speak to the three children via online video call.

It is understood that Nagahswaran is set to finish his prison term sometime later this year.

“He (Nagahswaran) just wants to speak to the children. I met the father in prison, he has the letters from the children on the (prison) wall.

“We just wish to seek from this court to allow the father to speak to the children,” Fernandez said.

Srimurugan then told the court that he needs to speak to Loh about this.

Peters then set July 4 for further case management of the case.

Nagahswaran was alleged to have run away with the children and carried out the conversion in July 2020 without Loh’s consent and knowledge.

Loh’s separate legal bid to strike down her children’s Islamic conversion is fixed for decision before another Kuala Lumpur High Court on Aug 1.

On Feb 21, the Kuala Lumpur High Court (criminal jurisdiction) allowed her habeas corpus application to be reunited with her three children.

Justice has been done yet again! MAIPS can go suck d*ck. Cope and seethe, fascists. This just goes to highlight the vital role an independent judiciary plays in curbing governmental excesses. Speaking of an independent judiciary, a judge who convicted a former PM on corruption charges is now being investigated by the country's "anti-corruption" agency based on a politically motivated complaint by a Najib supporter upset with the verdict. A protest by lawyers is planned for next month.

Court dismisses Muslim-born woman’s bid to leave Islam

The Syariah Court's denial of a Muslim woman’s bid to renounce Islam and become a follower of Buddhism and Confucianism will stay in place.

This followed the civil court’s dismissal this morning of the 32-year-old’s application for leave to commence judicial review to quash the Syariah Court ruling.

The applicant’s lawyer Fahri Azzat confirmed the dismissal of the leave application by the Kuala Lumpur High Court (appellate and special powers jurisdiction) this afternoon delivered via email to parties.

“(Civil court judge) Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid dismissed the applicant’s application for leave for judicial review with costs of RM2,000 (to be paid by the woman to the Attorney-General’s Chambers or AGC).

“The decision was given by email at 3.28pm, sent by the court interpreter. After short submission by email, cost was determined at 4.29pm.

“We informed the applicant immediately after the decision. The applicant instructed us to appeal against the decision. We filed an appeal (to the Court of Appeal) against the decision at 4.49pm.

“We will effect service of the appeal notice (on the Syariah Court) tomorrow,” the lawyer said.

Federal counsel Sallehuddin Md Ali, who is from the AGC and appeared for the government today, confirmed the court outcome.

The government lawyer added that the civil court judge did not provide grounds for the decision.

In effect, today’s verdict means the civil court will not hear the merits of her legal challenge against the Syariah Court’s refusal to allow her to renounce Islam.

On March 4, she went to the civil court to nullify the Syariah Court’s decision. Today was set for decision on her bid.

The woman’s judicial review bid named the Federal Territory Syariah Appeal Court, the Federal Territory Syariah High Court, the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP), and the government as first, second, third, and fourth respondents, respectively.

‘Never practised Islam’

According to the cause papers, the woman, born to a Muslim convert man and Muslim-born woman on Feb 8, 1990, allegedly went through a multi-year failed bid at the Syariah Court to leave the religion and officially take on Confucianism and Buddhism.

She claimed the Syariah High Court and Court of Appeal refused her bid as they held it would go against ‘hukum syarak’ (Islamic principles) to allow a fellow Muslim to leave the faith.

The woman - whose parents have since divorced - claimed her Muslim mother never forced Islam on her and gave her free rein to determine her own faith.

She claimed her father only converted to Islam in order to marry her mother and that her parents never practised the faith.

Contending that she neither practised Islam nor even recited the Kalimah Syahadah, she initially went to the Federal Territory Syariah High Court to try to renounce Islam.

The Kalimah Syahadah - one of the Five Pillars of Islam - is an Islamic oath that reads “I bear witness that there is no deity but God (Allah), and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

The woman alleged that on Dec 10, 2018, the Syariah High Court ordered her to attend 12 pre-trial aqidah (faith) counselling sessions for a six-month period beginning Jan 14, 2019.

She said she then took leave from her employment in Oman and flew back to Malaysia to attend the 12 sessions which in the end managed to be completed between Jan 14 and 25 that year.

The woman claimed her mother and her mother’s close friend testified before the Syariah High Court over her faith in Confucianism and Buddhism.

She alleged however that on July 27, 2020, the Syariah High Court dismissed her bid and instructed her to undergo istitabah under MAIWP or the “Mufti’s Office”.

Under the country’s Syariah system, istitabah refers to faith rehabilitation.

She claimed that the court also ordered her to undergo continuous Islamic classes as well as more aqidah counselling.

"There is no compulsion in Islam."

Uh huh. Sure.

State PAS chief summoned for audience with S'gor sultan

Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has summoned state PAS chief Ahmad Yunus Hairi for an audience today, according to the state royal office.

The state palace said in a Facebook post that the meeting at Istana Bukit Kayangan lasted about an hour. Details of the meeting were not revealed.

The audience at Istana Bukit Kayangan today followed Yunus’ June 10 call to bar Muslims from taking part in the Bon Odori festival.

Previously, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad told Muslims not to attend Bon Odori, claiming that the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia had researched Bon Odori and believed that it would lead Muslims astray.

Sultan Sharafuddin, however, disagreed with the minister’s view that the event was religious in nature and asked Idris to attend the event himself.
Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah

The sultan had already instructed the Selangor Islamic Religious Department yesterday not to obstruct the event which will be held at the Shah Alam National Sports Complex on July 16.

The Bon Odori is a dance during the Bon festival - which honours the spirits of ancestors and has roots in Buddhism and Shinto.

The dance itself is originally meant to welcome the spirits of said ancestors.

However, outside of Japan, the event has largely been stripped of religious connotations.

The Bon Odori has been organised in Malaysia since 1977 by Japanese expatriates.

The event in Selangor - touted as the largest outside Japan - is jointly organised by the Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur, the Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur, and the Japanese Embassy, with support from the state government.

Looks like the Muslim establishment is divided between federal fascist hardliners who want to ban Muslims from attending a secular festival to celebrate cultural diversity and the moderate, opposition-run Selangor state government as well as its ruler who want to allow Muslims to attend the festival. It looks as if the moderates have the upper hand for now. This is good because we want Muslims to experience how non-Muslims live their lives and celebrate their cultures and traditions. We want them to see that our very existence as non-Muslims is not, in fact, an affront to Islam rendering us worthy only of extermination or enslavement by Islamist fascists. We want them to know that we are here to stay and we are here to have a good time and if Muslims want to join in, let them. If they want to renounce Islam due to being exposed to our frankly superior way of living, so much the better for both them and us and so much the worse for these fascists.