High Court set to hear woman’s bid to leave Islam 

THE Putrajaya High Court will hear a Sarawakian woman's judicial review to seek for the Federal Territory Registrar of Muallaf to remove her name from the Register of Muallaf, reported the New Straits Times.

This is after a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Datuk Supang Lian allowed the applicant's bid to reinstate her legal bid today.

The court said the lower court erred when dismissing the applicant's leave (permission) to initiate her judicial review in September last year.

"We find that the learned High Court judge erred in having imposed a higher burden on the appellant to demonstrate that her application is not frivolous.

"It seems to us that the learned High Court judge, in rejecting leave, prematurely delved into answering the merits of the case, instead of merely being satisfied that these are serious arguments to be determined at the judicial review hearing.

"The appellant is given leave to commence judicial review in the High Court," she said.

According to the NST, the 27-year-old woman filed the application on Apr 20 last year and named the Federal Territory Registrar of Muallaf, the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the government as the respondents.

However, on Sept 21, the same year, the then High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid dismissed her leave application after he allowed a preliminary objection by the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC).

Born to Christian parents, the woman sought a declaration that the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 (Act 505) gives jurisdiction to the first respondent (Registrar of Muallaf) to declare that a person is no longer a Muslim.

She also requested that her name be cancelled from the Register of Muallaf immediately, adding that its refusal or delay to make decisions on her application filed on Jan 30, Feb 20 and March 17, 2023, is irrational and unreasonable.

In her supporting affidavit, the woman said on Aug 18, 2017, she converted to Islam and registered as a muallaf after a Malay Muslim man asked for her hand in marriage.

However, on Jan 27 last year, she pledged in an affidavit that she wanted to leave Islam and return as a Christian and applied to have her name removed from the registry to which the Registrar of Muallaf has yet to reply. - December 13, 2024