Practising Buddhist wins bid for rehearing

> Woman born out of wedlock seeks ruling not to be bound by Islamic law

PUTRAJAYA: A woman, who was born to a Muslim father but raised as a Buddhist by her mother, won an appeal in the Court of Appeal to have her civil matter reheard. She is seeking a ruling that she is not bound by Islamic Law.

The 35-year-old woman with a Muslim name, Rosliza Ibrahim, was born out of wedlock to her Muslim father and Buddhist mother and professes Buddhism.

Last year, Rosliza filed an originating summons in the High Court, over personal “status” and sought a legal declaration that the Selangor state enacted Islamic laws do not apply to her.

Rosliza said the syariah court did not have jurisdiction over her, and named the Selangor state government as respondent in the matter.

On March 3 this year, the High Court dismissed her originating summons and struck out the application with RM5,000 in costs. Rosliza appealed at the Court of Appeal. Yesterday, the panel of judges, led by Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and comprising Datuk Zamani A. Rahim and Puan Sri Zaleha Yusof, unanimously decided to set aside the High Court decision.

“We order the case to be remitted to the High Court in Shah Alam to be heard. This is not a plain and obvious case to be unsustainable,” said Abang Iskandar, adding that “unsustainable” is not a ground to strike out the case.

Rosliza’s lawyer, Aston Paiva, had submitted that the civil court had the jurisdiction on whether a person is a Muslim or not.