Both the mother and the Federal Territories Registrar of Muslim Converts were appealing against the Buddhist ex-husband’s successful bid at the High Court in 2018 to quash their two children’s unilateral conversion to Islam. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — A three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal today decided that the High Court was correct to rule in favour of a Buddhist father by quashing his two children’s unilateral conversion to Islam by the Buddhist-turned-Muslim mother.
Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, who chaired the panel, delivered the unanimous decision after hearing the case this morning.
“We have come to our decision. Our decision is unanimous, and we are of the view that the High Court judge as well as we — the appeal court — are bound by the Federal Court’s decision in Indira Gandhi.
“As such, we find no appealable error made by the learned High Court judge, therefore we find no merits in this appeal. Both the appeals are hereby dismissed. The decision of the High Court judge is affirmed.
“And in this case we think the proper order is no order as to costs,” he said in delivering the panel’s brief decision.
The two other judges on the Court of Appeal panel today were Datuk S. Nantha Balan and Datuk Nordin Hassan.
In giving the decision, the Court of Appeal was dismissing an appeal by the Muslim convert mother and an appeal by the Federal Territories Registrar of Muslim Converts.
Both the mother and the Federal Territories Registrar of Muslim Converts were appealing against the Buddhist ex-husband’s successful bid at the High Court in 2018 to quash their two young children’s unilateral conversion to Islam.
High Court judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi had in her October 16, 2018 decision said it was not disputed that the two children were converted without the consent of both parents and with the children’s certificates of conversion to Islam issued without the father’s consent, further noting that the court is then bound by the Federal Court’s January 29, 2018 decision in Ipoh mother M. Indira Gandhi’s case.
The High Court had also in the same October 2018 decision granted two orders sought by the non-Muslim father.
The first court order granted by the High Court then was to quash the conversion of religion of the two children and to quash the decision of the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) director-general and the Federal Territories Registrar of Muslim Converts to issue the “Kad Akuan Agama Islam” or certificates of conversion to the two children.
The second order granted by the High Court then was to compel both Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) director-general and the Federal Territories Registrar of Muslim Converts to cancel the two children’s registration as Muslim converts in their records or the Muslim converts’ register.
With the Court of Appeal’s decision today, the High Court decision still stands.
It remains to be seen whether the mother and the Federal Territories Registrar of Muslim Converts would appeal further to the Federal Court. When contacted, lawyer Nizam Bashir said he would seek instructions from his client Federal Territories Registrar of Muslim Converts on whether it would appeal.
The High Court had on May 21, 2018 ordered for the names and images of the mother who had converted from Buddhism to Islam, and the Buddhist father, as well as their two children to not be published.
The Court of Appeal today reminded reporters of the court order for all four names to not be published.
MORE TO COME