PETALING Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah has obtained leave to initiate legal proceedings to challenge the Shariah High Court’s decision to allow committal proceedings against her for criticising its decision to sentence a businessman’s former wife to jail.

High Court Judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh also granted Maria’s request to stay order the proceedings pending disposal of the judicial review application.

The judge allowed Maria’s leave application for a judicial review after ruling that she had not challenged any part of the Islamic law which falls within the jurisdiction of the shariah court, but that she was challenging the jurisdiction of the shariah court over the committal proceedings against her.

He said Maria’s complaint was that that her rights, under article 5 of the Federal Constitution, which states that no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty, are at stake.

“The applicant says that the contempt proceedings taken as the whole is an affront to her liberty as the proceedings were based on section 229 of the Syariah Court Civil Procedure (Federal Territories) Act 1998.

“It does not matter whether she is a member of the parliament or the street hawker, the court will not stand idly by. The applicant has adduced enough material in arguing the contempt proceedings could be tainted with procedural impropriety,” said the judge.

He fixed September 15 for case management. 

Maria, 65, filed the application on March 3 last year, naming as defendants former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council, and Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Syariah Judiciary Department.

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan represented Maria, while senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly acted for the respondents. – Bernama, August 22, 2022.