Woman fails in bid to renounce Islam

PUTRAJAYA: The Apex Court in a 2-1 majority decision yesterday dismissed a 34-year-old woman’s appeal to obtain leave to commence judicial review to challenge the Syariah Court’s decision that disallowed her to renounce Islam.

The three-member bench chaired by Justice Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim made the ruling with Justice Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang while Justice Mary Lim Thiam Suan dissented.

“The application did not cross the threshold as required to obtain leave under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act. Thus, the leave is dismissed with no order as to costs,” said Justice Hasnah.

Earlier, lawyer Fahri Azzat, representing the woman, submitted that his client wanted to renounce Islam to get married.

“Existing case laws have gone in different ways. It is a mess at the moment. Leave should be granted for the Federal Court to confirm or correct the situation,” he said.

Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly who acted for the government and three others, countered that a Muslim has to go to the Syariah Court to renounce Islam and that the civil court has no such jurisdiction.

Last August, the Court of Appeal dismissed the woman’s appeal on the ground that only the Syariah Court has the exclusive jurisdiction to determine issues of renunciation as per Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution.

The woman, who was born to a Muslim convert father and a Muslim mother, was appealing against the June 15, 2023, High Court ruling dismissing her application for leave to challenge the Syariah Court’s dismissal of her legal suit.

In her judicial review filed in the High Court on March 4, 2022, the woman named the Syariah Court of Appeal, the Syariah High Court, the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the government of Malaysia as respondents.

She sought at least 12 reliefs as part of her lawsuit, including declarations that she is no longer a Muslim and that she is entitled to profess her religion of Confucianism and Buddhism.

She also asked the Civil High Court to declare the decisions by the Syariah High Court and Syariah Court of Appeal which rejected her bid to be recognised as no longer a Muslim, as illegal, unlawful and void.

The Syariah High Court on July 27, 2020, dismissed the woman’s bid to be declared no longer a Muslim and ordered her to go through “istitabah” or repentance and Islamic classes and further akidah counselling. She then brought the matter to the Syariah Court of Appeal, which also rejected her appeal on Dec 8, 2021.