Mahkamah Rayuan batal permohonan lelaki cabar status agama Islam

Mahkamah Rayuan has dismissed a male's challenge to his Muslim religious status. Putrajaya: The High Court panel unanimously ruled that the matter falls within the jurisdiction of a Sharia court due to the act of apostasy. The three-judge panel, comprising Judge Firuz Jaffril, Judge Faizah Jamaludin and Judge Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, affirmed a request from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the government, stating that the civil court does not have the authority to hear Shehzad Malik Sarwar Malik's challenge to his religious status.

The judges noted official documents confirming Shehzad was born in 1996 to a family that converted to Islam voluntarily. They acknowledged the respondent was born Muslim as per Section 2 of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 (Act 505). The panel said the act can be interpreted as abandoning Islam (murtad) and the case is within the Sharia court's jurisdiction.

The panel said the respondent cannot bring this matter to the civil court as the court lacks the authority to issue the requested order. No order was made regarding costs to Shehzad. Shehzad initially filed a suit against his ex-wife in December 2023, seeking a declaration that he is a Sikh and has never been Muslim. He claimed his mother converted him to Sikhism after his birth in June 1996, and after her death in 2007, he was raised by his stepfather, who also practiced Sikhism.

Shehzad also sought an order to change his religious status from Islam to Sikh, as well as a name change from Shehzad Malik bin Muhammad Sarwar Malik to Bilawal Singh Bhutter. The MAIWP argued that a Muslim mother cannot change her Muslim child's religion to Sikh, while the government stated that Shehzad declared himself Muslim when applying for a national identity card.

Last year, the Federal Court rejected MAIWP and the government's appeals to dismiss Shehzad's suit on the basis of a valid issue and full trial. However, the High Court allowed the suit to proceed, stating that the remedy for Shehzad lies in the Sharia court. Shehzad's lawyers, Ahmad Kamal Abu Bakar and Arik Zakri Abdul Kadir, argued that the civil suit cannot be maintained and should be dismissed.

They pointed to Shehzad's birth certificate and national ID, which clearly state his religion as Islam. Senior Public Prosecutor Husniyyah Hanapi supported the argument using Shehzad's birth certificate and national ID, which clearly show his religion as Islam. Shehzad's lawyer Sachpreetraj Singh, supported by Amanda Sonia Mathew, argued that a full trial is needed to determine whether Shehzad was ever a Muslim.

He said the case is an ab initio challenge, meaning Shehzad's claim that he was never a Muslim. "That's why we brought the case to the civil court, because our contention in this case is a case ab initio," he said.