Indonesian woman says she will remain in Malaysia despite khalwat ordeal

Halimah’s life turned into a legal nightmare for two years and eight months after the 42-year-old Catholic was accused of allegedly committing khalwat. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, August 30, 2014.

December 8, 2011 was just another day at work for reflexologist Halimah at a traditional herbal massage centre in George Town, Penang.

That was until religious officers busted her workplace in search of the Indonesian woman because she had allegedly committed “khalwat” (close proximity), a crime under shariah law.

The 42-year-old Catholic woman's life turned into a legal nightmare for the next two years and eight months.

"I had never been so afraid until that day when the officers came. I felt like my heart was going to stop. They were after me.

"They said if I say I am a Muslim, everything would be fine. I was terrified and confused. They handcuffed me and took my away," she told The Malaysian Insider at her workplace.

Halimah was taken away by Penang State Religious Department (JHEAIPP) officers and was interrogated. She was then released on RM3,000 bail.

She was charged on May 2, 2012, where she pleaded guilty to committing khalwat. She was sentenced to 14 days' jail and fined RM3,000.

"Later, I thought how stupid I was, how terrible it is to be illiterate. I did not understand what had happened. I did not understand the charge against me.

"I did not know what to do. I did not have a lawyer at that time. I was so nervous, so afraid. I just pleaded guilty, thinking that the problem would go away after that," she said.

Halimah and her employer, Datin Josephine Ong, then sought legal help to get the conviction quashed, realising that it was all a mistake, as the Shariah Court has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims.

They challenged the decision at the Shariah Lower and High Courts, and with the help of the consulate-general of Indonesia in Penang, the defence managed to get documents to prove her religious status as a Christian, such as her baptism certificate.

Consul-General Ronald P. Manik even wrote to the shariah chief judge regarding the case.

After a lengthy battle, Halimah was finally granted a retrial when the Shariah Court of Appeal set aside the decisions by the lower and high courts.

On Tuesday, it was supposed to be the re-trial, but before Halimah could plead not guilty, the prosecution withdrew the charge and she was set free.

"I am very glad it is finally over, thanks to everyone's help. It was very difficult with the case hanging over my head.

"Every time I was told to appear in court on a certain day, I lost my appetite. I could not sleep.”

The mother of four from Bandung, whose children are aged between 17 and 28, said she never told her family about her khalwat case because she did not want to worry them.

"I may tell them about what it is like to work and live in Malaysia but I am not telling them about this. My kids worry about me. They are concerned about my health.

"What if I tell them everything aDatin Josephine Ong says she has always been careful to hire non-Muslims for her traditional herbal massage centre and was supportive of her employee, Halimah, throughout her khalwat ordeal. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, August 30, 2014.nd they forbid me from working here? Who is going to feed my family?"

Despite the incident, Halimah planned to remain in the country.

“As long as I am healthy, I want to work here because my family need the money. Working in Malaysia is okay," she said.

Halimah has been working in Malaysia for six years, five of which with Ong.

She sends home about RM1,000 a month.

The money supports her mother, who is 73, her two married daughters, a 17-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old grandson.

"My whole family lives in a village far from the city. There are very few jobs. My daughters stay home and care for their ailing grandmother, their youngest sister and my grandson."

Halimah grew up in poverty and her parents were so poor, they could not send her, their only child, to school.

"It was for my kids that I came to Malaysia. I never left my village when I was younger. My friends told me about working here but at the beginning, I did not want to because I was afraid. But the situation forced me to leave Indonesia.

"I worked in a padi field in Indonesia and earned RM5 a day. When the rice-planting season ended, I took up other odd-jobs. When there were no jobs, we went hungry," she said, adding that her family could not afford to buy meat and fish.

"Sometimes, we ate salted fish. If not, I just mixed rice, eggs and flour together. That was what my children ate... I don't want them to go through that kind of life any more, so I want to work here."

Halimah would not speak about her husband, only that "I don't want to talk (about him). Sakit hati (it is upsetting)."

With the case over, she can finally return home to see her family, but Halimah said she must save more first before returning home next year.

"I have only gone home twice since I came here to work. The last time was four years ago. I want to go home and see my mother. I miss my children, too, and I would like to see how much my grandson has grown."

Ong said she was happy Halimah was free now but the raid at the shop on Jalan Seang Tek was a traumatic reminder.

"It sounded like horses had run into my shop the way the officers entered and went straight upstairs looking for Halimah.

"We could only watch. It was frightening. It was really a bad experience for all of us," said Ong, who paid most of Halimah's legal fees.

When Halimah was hauled to court, they had no idea what to do under shariah law. They did not even know that they needed a Muslim to bail Halimah out.

"But now, I know a thing or two about the shariah court," Ong said, adding that they got help and advice from veteran lawyer Cecil Rajendran, who held a watching brief for the Malaysian Bar Council and the National Human Rights Society.

Running a 10-year-old traditional massage business, Ong said she was aware her premises could get raided by the authorities any time. That was why, she said, she only hired non-Muslim workers from Indonesia, Thailand and China.

"We are always alert. We make sure our staff do not get up to any hanky-panky. We also do not want trouble," she said.

Meanwhile, Cecil said Halimah's case held several salutary lessons for non-Muslims and Muslims alike.

Even though shariah law explicitly stated that it has no power over non-Muslims, there was no safeguard against non-Muslims being unlawfully arrested and charged in a shariah court, he said.

"Once a non-Muslim is caught in the shariah trap, she or he has no access to a non-Muslim lawyer or even a non-Muslim bailor."

Cecil said the shariah court could also break its own laws with impunity and no one was free to question it, as once a matter was before it, it would be deemed sub judice.

He added that despite overwhelming evidence, the rights of women, migrant workers and religious minorities were trampled upon in the "malicious prosecution" of Halimah.

"What happened to Halimah can happen to any non-Muslim in Malaysia. Halimah's eventual release was not due to any rule of law or legal process but solely because of the intervention of the consul-general of Indonesia.

"If Halimah did not have a supportive employer or a compassionate consul-general, she may very well have ended up in jail for an offence she did not commit," he said, adding that the prosecution lacked compassion in Halimah's case.

"As her prosecutors have shown no compassion, remorse or regret, we are now exploring options of how to prevent another Halimah tragedy. We may file a suit for malicious prosecution against the authorities.”

- TMI