KOTA KINABALU: A letter from the state Islamic authority confirming that a person is not professing Islam is sufficient for the National Registration Department (NRD) to remove "Islam" from their identity card.
The ruling was made by Kota Kinabalu High Court judge Datuk Zaleha Rose Pandin over an originating summons by 29-year-old Rieno Glant Oleant George, who sought a court declaration that he was not a Muslim and wanted the NRD to issue him an IC with "Islam" removed.
Justice Zaleha also said that it was not necessary for Rieno to seek an order from the Syariah Court to prove that he was not a Muslim for the NRD to remove "Islam" from his IC.
She said that the NRD should have taken action to make amendments based on the letter from the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Negeri Sabah (JHEAINS) confirming that Rieno was not listed as a convert.
"It is absurd to expect the plaintiff (Rieno) to seek an order from the Syariah Court when the matter is clearly within the jurisdiction of the Civil Court," she said in her judgment, allowing Rieno's application with no order for costs.
In her ruling made on Friday (Aug 17), she said she was satisfied, based on the facts provided, that Rieno had never practised Islam and had never converted to the faith.
She said he did not fall within the definition of a practising Muslim under Section 2 of the Majlis Ugama Islam Sabah (MUIS) Enactment 2004.
"It is my considered view that since the plaintiff (Rieno) was born to Christian parents and later raised by his grandmother in a Christian upbringing, and was never converted to Islam either by his parents or on his own accord, he is not caught within the definition of Muslim under Section 2 of the MUIS Enactment," she said.
This was further confirmed by JHEAINS in its letter dated Sept 15, 2022, stating that Rieno was not registered in the Sistem Maklumat Muallaf (list of Muslim converts).
Justice Zaleha said the letter was "self-explanatory and crystal clear," especially as JHEAINS is the custodian of the full list of Muallaf in Sabah.
She also said there was no provision in the MUIS Enactment 2004 that a child must automatically follow the religion of the mother when she converts to Islam through remarriage.
"Even if it is contended that the plaintiff (Rieno) had automatically followed his mother's religion of Islam when he was a minor, it is subject to the Federal Court’s decision in the Indira Gandhi case (Indira Gandhi Mutho v. Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam Perak & Ors and Other Appeals [2018] 3 CLJ)," she said.
"I agree with the plaintiff (Rieno) that he is not and never was a Muslim," she said in her written judgment.
Justice Zaleha said that since Rieno was never a Muslim, he would not be able to "seek recourse from and/or be subject to the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court." Therefore, the civil court was the proper avenue, especially as the matter involves a fundamental liberty under the Federal Constitution.
On the argument that Rieno had ticked the box indicating he was a Muslim, Justice Zaleha said that merely ticking the box marked "Islam" in the application form is not conclusive proof of Rieno's conversion to Islam.
She said there should be requirements for a valid conversion to Islam as stipulated in Section 69 of the MUIS Enactment 2004.
Rieno was represented by Beverley Ramona Tan of Messrs Sitiwin & Jintoni, who filed the originating summons on Oct 5, 2022. They sought a declaration that Rieno was not a person professing the religion of Islam, and that the term "Islam" was wrongfully entered into his National Registration Identification Card (IC).
They also sought a declaration that the NRD's failure, neglect, and refusal to rectify his religious status without a Syariah Court declaration was illegal, unconstitutional, and amounted to fettering its discretion.
They sought an order for the NRD to replace Rieno's IC by removing the word "Islam" from its particulars.
Based on facts, Rieno was born on Oct 29, 1995, to his Christian Kadazandusun parents George B. Kamandan and Nora Awang, who were non-Muslims at the time.
There was no religious affiliation indicated on his birth certificate.
Rieno's parents divorced when he was three months old, and he was raised by his maternal grandmother Tondu Sigunil at Kampung Buit Hill, Putatan, in a Christian upbringing.
Rieno's mother converted to Islam when she married Dahli Suileh but did not convert Rieno. He (Rieno) also never met his biological father and only discovered that his father also converted Islam on Sept 11, 2009 via records provided to him.
In 2007, he applied for an IC and realised that the religion was listed as "Islam." The NRD explained that both his parents were listed as Islam in their database.
He could only amend it when he turned 18.
However, they required him to get an order from the Syariah Court before any application for amendment on his religious status could be made.
The NRD was represented by Fazriel Fardiansyah of the civil division of the Attorney General's Chambers in Sabah.
