Dimuatturun dari: http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=17482
The Sun
3rd April 2007
Religious Council: Prayers not move to undermine Islam, Muslims
Subashini files appeal to Federal Court
Maria J.Dass
PETALING JAYA (April 2, 2007): The initiative by non-Muslim groups to hold prayers for and read out letters nationwide in support of justice, fairness and respect for their constitutional rights is not meant to undermine Islam or Muslims, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) said.
Instead, the efforts are to create awareness among non-Muslims regarding recent court judgments, and help them understand the implications of conversion to Islam.
Council president Datuk Chee Peck Kiat said the initiatives had also received support from Muslims, including from Sisters in Islam (SIS) and Umno MP Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, noting that they had spoken up on the injustices caused by the lack of religious freedom, and the recent civil court decision to direct non-Muslims to the syariah court.
"We urge all fair minded Malaysians, irrespective of their religion, to voice their grievances against this injustice through proper and peaceful channels, and to do all that is possible, and pray that justice and freedom of religion be restored," he said today.
He was speaking in a press conference to launch a series of special prayers following the March 13 Court of Appeal judement directing R. Subashini, a Hindu, to seek recourse through the syariah court.
The court, in a majority decision, had also dismissed Subashini's appeal to stop her Muslim-convert husband, Muhammad Shafi Saravanan Abdullah, from going to the syariah court to dissolve their civil marriage, seek custody of their children and unilaterally convert their young child.
However last Friday (March 30), the same bench granted Subashini an interim injunction preventing her husband from proceeding with his case in the syariah court pending the disposal of her application to the Federal court.
"The fact that the wife has been granted temporary respite by the court does not detract from the seriousness of the original decision," Chee said.
In a statement today, SIS said the Muslim group believed in justice and the non-discrimination of people of other faiths as enshrined in Islam.
"We support any initiative that affirms the supremacy of the Constitution that has been agreed by all ethnic groups in Malaysia," SIS said.
The prayer sessions by MCCBCHST over this week will coincide with the Christian Holy Week, the Hindu and Tamil New Year, and Cheng Beng (Chinese's All Souls Day).
Christian Federation of Malaysia executive secretary Rev. Dr Hermen Shastri said: "We will pray that the government will be moved by moral conscience to rectify the situation, by upholding laws in the Constitution."
The Buddhist community will also hold prayer sessions over the next three months during the full moon.
"Our devotees have to understand these issues, that once you enter (convert to Islam), it is very difficult to leave," Malaysian Buddhist Association adviser Ng Hong Pau said.
Subashini files appeal to Federal Court
PUTRAJAYA (April 2, 2007): A Hindu housewife, who was told to go to the Syariah Court to fight for her matrimonial rights, wants the Federal Court to decide whether the High Court has exclusive jurisdiction to grant a civil divorce to a couple, where one spouse has converted to Islam.
This was one of the nine questions of law contained in R.Subashini's application for leave for the Federal Court to determine.
Subashini had filed for leave from the Federal Court to appeal against the Appellate Court's 2-1 majority decision on March 13, telling her to battle out her divorce and custody claims in the Syariah Court.
On that day, the Court of Appeal rejected the former secretary's appeal against a High Court decision last Sept 25, setting aside the exparte injunction order granted to her to restrain T.Saravanan, 31, from commencing proceedings in the Syariah Court to dissolve their marriage and to convert their second son.
The 28-year-old woman filed the leave application together with a certificate of urgency through law firm Kanesalingam and Co. last Friday (March 30, 2007).
It will be the end of the road for Subashini if she fails to get leave from the Federal Court to appeal. If that happens, the Court of Appeal decision would be final, reports Bernama today. Last Friday, Subashini obtained a temporary injunction from the Court of Appeal preventing Saravanan from initiating or continuing with any proceedings in the Syariah Court or converting their younger son pending the hearing of her leave application.
Among the other questions proposed for the Federal Court's determination: whether it is an abuse of process for a spouse in a civil marriage to unilaterally convert the religion of a minor child without the consent of the other parent; and whether Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution prevents the High Court from granting interim injunctions, where the abuse of process is effected at the syariah court through unconstitutional and jurisdictionally incompetent filing of proceedings in the syariah courts and unilateral conversion of a minor child from a civil marriage, by the converted spouse. Article 121 (1A) states that the civil courts do not have jurisdiction over matters within the jurisdiction of the syariah courts which, constitutionally, only has jurisdiction over Muslims. The couple, who have yet to finalise their divorce, have two children, Dharvin Joshua, three, and one-year-old Sharvind.
Saravanan, whose Muslim name is Muhammad Shafi Abdullah, had claimed that the elder child had converted to Islam with him in May last year.
In seeking an early hearing, Subashini gave the following grounds: the issues raised in the leave application pertained to the imposition of Islamic law on non-Muslim citizens, which fundamentally affects the lives of the entire non-Muslim community; the leave application raised issues regarding the relationship between the Civil High Courts and Syariah Courts established by various state legislatures which will have a significant impact on the proper functioning of the judicial arm of the government and the maintenance of the rule of law in Malaysia.