SIS’ challenge against Selangor fatwa remitted to High Court
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court yesterday ordered the judicial review application filed by Sisters in Islam (SIS) to challenge a Selangor fatwa (edict) labelling the organisation as a deviant group to be remitted to the High Court to be heard.
A Federal Court seven-man bench chaired by Chief Justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum also ordered for the application to be heard on merits, including issues pertaining to the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Malanjum said all parties were free to submit their arguments on the issues of jurisdiction at the High Court level to save time.
The other judges on the bench were Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zaharah Ibrahim, Federal Court Judges Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed, Tan Sri Aziah Ali, Datuk Rohana Yusuf and Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh.
In the consent order signed by counsels representing both parties, the Selangor Fatwa Committee, Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (MAIS) and the Selangor State government as the appellants were free to raise any issue including the jurisdiction of the High Court by reason of provisions of the Federal Constitution.
The High Court was also ordered to decide on all issues raised by all parties when determining the judicial review application.
The Court of Appeal's decision on March 2, last year, which allowed an application by SIS to initiate the judicial review proceedings has also been set aside.
The case has been fixed for case management on Oct 2.
On June 24, 2016, the High Court dismissed the judicial review application filed by SIS, its founder Zainah Mahfoozah Anwar and former minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to challenge a Selangor fatwa labelling the organisation as deviant, after ruling the civil courts did not have jurisdiction to decide over the issue of fatwa.
On Oct 31, 2014, SIS Forum (Malaysia), Zainah and Zaid filed the application to challenge the Selangor Fatwa Committee decision of declaring the organisation as deviating from Islamic teachings and named the Selangor Fatwa Committee, MAIS and the Selangor government as respondents.
They are seeking a certiorari order to quash the decision of the Selangor Fatwa Committee and MAIS which stated that the organisation and any individuals, as well as groups, which adopted the deviant ideologies of liberalism and pluralism were deviating from the teachings of Islam.
They also applied for a declaration that the decision of the Selangor Fatwa Committee and MAIS in directing through the edict which directed the Multimedia and Communications Commission to block social websites that went against Islamic teachings as contradicting Section 3 (3) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
They are also seeking a declaration that SIS, which was formed under the Companies Act 1965 as a company limited by guarantee, was not subject to the decisions of the Selangor Fatwa Committee and MAIS.