Appeals by registrar of Muallaf, muslim-convert mother postponed as Judge recuses himself

PUTRAJAYA: One of the judges presiding on the Court of Appeal three-member bench has recused himself from hearing the appeals involving unilateral conversion of two children to Islam.

Justice Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera indicated that he was recusing himself from hearing the matter as the parents of the children were known to him, adding that it was not proper for him to hear the appeal.

Following his recusal, Justice Datuk Lau Bee Lan who chaired the bench rescheduled the appeal hearing to June 29.

The Federal Territory Registrar of Muallaf and the children’s Muslim-convert mother were appealing against a High Court’s decision to quash the conversion of the children to Islam.

The other judge sitting on the bench was Datuk Indera Mohd Sofian Abd Razak.

On Oct 16, 2018, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur allowed the judicial review by the father of the children, a Buddhist, to quash the unilateral conversion to Islam of his two children born in a civil marriage when his now ex-wife was still a Buddhist.

Then High Court judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi (now Court of Appeal judge) had said that it was not in dispute that the certificates of conversion of the children were issued without the consent of the children’s father.

She said she was bound by the Federal Court decision in the Indira Gandhi case in which the Federal Court’s five-man panel in January 2018 ruled that the consent of both parents were required before a child born in a civil marriage can be converted to Islam.

In Indira’s case, a Hindu mother had filed a similar judicial review application to challenge her Muslim convert ex-husband’s unilateral conversion of their three children.

In today’s matter, the father of the children had filed a judicial review to quash the conversion of his two young children who were converted to Islam in May 2016 without his knowledge and consent.

The identities of the family cannot be disclosed due to a High Court order issued on May 21, 2018.

The Court of Appeal’s decision in September 2018 which granted full custody of the children to the father was affirmed following the mother’s failure to obtain leave to pursue her appeal in the Federal Court.

Lawyer Datuk Sulaiman Abdullah represented the Registrar of Muallaf, while senior federal counsel Rosli Ahmad appeared for the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department director-general, the education ministry director-general and the government.

Lawyer K.Shanmuga represented the father while lawyer Arham Rahimy Hariri appeared for the mother.- Bernama