Wednesday 30 May 2007

Updates on Lina Joy

Remember Lina Joy's case? The woman who tried to ask the government to change her religion status on her Identity card from Islam to Christian? Well, she lost her final appeal to the Federal Court. What is so interesting is that the two chief justices who disallowed her to remove her religion status from Islam to Christian are muslim. The only chief justice who disagree with the two cheif justices is actually a non muslim.


There is something which I don't understand. Why is it so hard for someone to convert from Islam to non Islam while they allow people to convert from non Islam to Islam? What is the justification over there then?What can you say about that then? Comments?


Please have a look at the article below which is on The Star Online dated 30 May 2007


PUTRAJAYA: Lina Joy lost her final round of appeal when the Federal Court dismissed on Wednesday her appeal against a ruling that the National Registration Department was right not to allow her to remove the word "Islam" from her identity card.

Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Federal Court judge Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff delivered the majority decision dismissing her appeal.

Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum dissented.

On Sept 19, 2005, the Court of Appeal decided that the NRD director-general was right in refusing her application to drop her religious status from her IC on the grounds that the Syariah Court and other Islamic religious authorities did not confirm Linas renunciation of Islam.

Update on 31/05/2007: (Article taken from The Star Online)


PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court, in a majority decision, has rejected Lina Joy's appeal to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to remove the word Islam from her identity card.

The 42-year-old will now have to either subject herself to the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court on whether she is an apostate or seek a review of the Federal Court decision.

Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim ruled that the NRD had reasonably imposed a condition requiring Lina to obtain a certificate of apostasy from the Syariah Court before it proceeds to make the deletion.

The second most senior judge on the Bench, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum, however, handed down a dissenting judgment criticising the NRD’s act as “unconstitutional and discriminatory”.

The third judge on the panel, Federal Court judge Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, concurred with the Chief Justice in dismissing Lina’s appeal.

Approached after the judgment, Lina’s lawyer Benjamin Dawson said he was considering filing for a review of the judgment.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Justice Datuk Richard Malanjum who is the Chief Justice of Sarawak is a Christian. Well, now we can confirm that Malaysia does not practise Democracy & that there is no freedom of religion. That is Malaysia!

ぜるもう said...

Well, I do have nothing to say about this as the fact speaks for itself.

ぜるもう said...

Article taken from The Star Online on 1 June 2007

Bar Council: Federal Constitution must remain supreme

PETALING JAYA: The Bar Council supports the minority judgment of Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum that no court or authority should be easily allowed to have implied powers to curtail rights that are constitutionally granted.

Its president S. Ambiga said the Federal Constitution “is and must remain in law, supreme.”

“In an event of any inconsistency or conflict between the provisions of State Enactments and of the Federal Constitution, the latter must prevail,” she said in a statement yesterday.

On Wednesday, the Federal Court rejected Lina Joy’s appeal to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to remove the word “Islam” from her identity card.

Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Federal Court Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff voted against her appeal and said conversion issues should be dealt with by the Syariah Court.

In his dissenting judgement, Justice Malanjum described the NRD's insistence that Lina Joy obtain a certificate of apostasy from the Federal Territory Syariah Court or any Islamic authority as illegal and unreasonable.

Ambiga said: “We are mindful that issues relating to religion will inevitably draw emotive responses in a multireligious society.

“Malaysians must be prepared to confront these issues maturely and dispassionately within the framework of our Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land.”

Council of Churches of Malaysia general-secretary Rev Dr Herman Shastri said it viewed the Federal Court's decision with regret and concern.

“We believe that the constitutional provision in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion in our country has been severely violated,” he said.

He said the majority judgement had denied the individual the right to freedom of conscience and choice of religion.

“It is, therefore, vital that the necessary legislation be enacted to ensure that no citizen would be penalised when he or she exercises the individual right to choose a faith and to practice it in freedom,” he said.