Court orders fresh hearing for woman seeking 'non-Muslim' declaration

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The Court of Appeal has ordered for a rehearing on the case of Rosliza Ibrahim, who is seeking a court declaration that she is not subject to Islamic law.

In a unanimous decision today, the court ruled that the case is to be remitted back to the High Court in Shah Alam to be heard by a different judge.

Appellate court judge Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, who chaired the three-member panel, said the mere fact that the case may not succeed should not be grounds for the High Court to dismiss the case.

Rosliza, 35, claims to be an illegitimate child of a Muslim father and a Buddhist mother, and that she was raised as a Buddhist by her mother while her biological father did not take any interest in her welfare.

She is seeking a declaration that she is not subject to Syariah law, and that she is not under the jurisdiction of the syariah courts.

[More to follow]

-Mkini