PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court here on Monday (Jan 6) dismissed a 38-year-old woman’s application to review a previous ruling affirming her religious status as a Muslim.
The woman is seeking to overturn the Federal Court's previous 2-1 majority decision on May 3 of last year, which was made against her.
She is also requesting a new panel of judges to hear her appeal.
Her application for a review was dismissed by a three-judge panel comprised of Justices Zabariah Mohd Yusof, Rhodzariah Bujang, and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
Justice Zabariah said the case did not fall under the situation of exceptional circumstances to warrant a review and emphasised that the principle of finality in litigation must be upheld.
"The determination of the applicant’s (the woman) (religious) status was based on facts, not purely on law and it is not for this court to consider whether the earlier panel had or had not made the correct decision on the facts. That is a matter of opinion and evaluation,” she said.
Born in Selangor to a Hindu father and a Buddhist mother, the woman claimed to have been converted by her mother in 1991 at the age of four, without her father’s consent.
Despite this, she continued to practice Hinduism, the faith she was born into, as permitted by her mother and her stepfather, a Muslim.
In 2013, the woman filed a summons at the Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court seeking a declaration that she was no longer a Muslim but it was dismissed on July 20, 2017.
Her subsequent appeal was dismissed by the Syariah Court of Appeal on Aug 1, 2017.
She then pursued a civil lawsuit at the High Court, seeking a declaration that she is not a person professing the religion of Islam, naming the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS), and the Selangor state government as respondents.
In 2012, the Shah Alam High Court ruled in her favour, but this decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal in January 2023.
The court reinstated her status as a Muslim following appeals by MAIS and the Selangor state government.
On May 3 of last year, the Federal Court, in a 2-1 majority ruling, upheld the decision of the appellate court.
The woman filed the application for a review, contending the Federal Court’s majority decision went beyond its jurisdiction and violated the principles of natural justice.
She also claimed that the majority decision had caused a serious miscarriage of justice.
Lawyers Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, A.Surendra Ananth, and Wong Ming Yen represented the woman in today’s proceedings.
Lawyers Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla and Majdah Muda acted for MAIS, while Selangor state legal adviser Datuk Salim Soib@Hamid appeared for the Selangor state government. - Bernama
