Appeals court lets MAIWP strike out man’s bid to change religion from Islam to Sikhism

On September 25, the Court of Appeal permitted the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the government to dismiss a man's legal challenge to his religious status. A three-judge panel, consisting of Justices Mohd Firuz Jaffril, Faizah Jamaludin, and Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, ruled that Shehzad Malik's case was classified as a renunciation case, and the desired relief could only be granted by the Syariah Court.

Justice Mohd Firuz, delivering the unanimous decision, stated that the respondent could not approach the Civil Court as it lacks jurisdiction to grant the requested orders. He also emphasized that the respondent's legal identification as a person adhering to the religion of Islam, regardless of whether he no longer practices it, was not a point of contention.

Prior to this ruling, the panel rejected a preliminary objection raised by Shehzad Malik's legal team, asserting that the appeals brought by MAIWP and the government were valid before the court. Malik had filed his initial claim in December 2023, asserting that his parents professed Islam at the time of his birth in June 1996, but he was raised as a Sikh post his mother's death in 2007.

He sought a court declaration amending and correcting his religious status on the National Registration Department's record to Sikh, and changing his name from Shehzad Malik bin Muhammad Sarwar Malik to Bilawal Singh Bhutter. The High Court dismissed MAIWP and the government's attempts to strike out the originating summons on October 24, prompting them to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Lawyers representing MAIWP and the government included Ahmad Kamal Abu Bakar, Arik Zakri Abdul Kadir, Husniyyah Hanapi, Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal, and Amanda Sonia Mathew.