Police must effect High Court order, declares Bar

The Star
BY RAHIMY RAHIM

PETALING JAYA: The police are duty bound to uphold secular laws and give effect to the orders granted by the secular judiciary, said Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong.

“The Muslim convert father must obey the order of the High Court and the police are duty bound to assist the non-Muslim mother,” he said in response to the police stand that they cannot investigate a man who allegedly took his six-year-son from his ex-wife’s house despite a High Court order granting her custody of their two children.

Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia president Musa Awang also said the mother could apply for a contempt of court order against her ex-husband.

“Similar problems over the settlement of a child’s custody between non-Muslim and Muslim parents have persisted for quite some time. This is because parents can file custody orders separately at both the civil and the Syariah court.

“The children’s needs, interest and well-being must be prioritised and custody is usually granted to the mother,” he said.

Leong added that all Malaysians, without exception, were subject to and bound by the secular courts.

“The father and the mother are both bound by the custody order of the High Court, whereas the Syariah court order does not apply to the mother,” he said.

On Monday, the High Court here awarded custody of both children to S. Deepa, 31, after deciding that the law that had jurisdiction over matters pertaining to a civil marriage was the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act.

Justice Zabariah Mohd Yusof said that her verdict was based on the fact that the same law also had jurisdiction in child custody matters.

The court also granted an application by Deepa to annul their marriage because Izwan, who is now working with Yayasan Kasih Sayang, had embraced Islam.

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) said that action should be taken against the suspect involved in the alleged abduction of the child.

“By abducting the son, the ex-husband has breached the High Court custody order. The mother also obtained an interim protection order (IPO) to protect herself from further abuse. Two court orders have been breached, which warrant his immediate arrest,” said WAO.

The WAO also called for the amendment of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act to spell out that the consent of both parents are needed to convert the religion of their children, and that when a spouse converts, the non-converting spouse must be notified about the conversion and its legal implications.

“None of this should have happened in the first place. When the ex-husband unilaterally converted his children to Islam, he was gaming the system. He created an unfair advantage for himself, and obtained custody of the children in the Syariah courts, where Deepa had no chance to tell her side of the story,” said WAO.