KUALA LUMPUR: The Shariah High Court here has allowed Naza Group chairman SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin to begin contempt proceedings against Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah over her criticism of the religious court’s decision to jail his ex-wife.
Judge Mohamed Fouzi Mokhtar, in allowing the businessman’s ex-parte application against Maria, said her statement had brought down the reputation of the religious court.
“Her statement was scandalous and contemptuous. This has affected the integrity of the Shariah Court,” Fouzi said.
He fixed Dec 2 for Maria to appear in court and explain why she should not be cited for contempt.
Faisal filed the application last month following Maria’s press statement titled “Emilia Faisal Hanifi’s sentencing proves injustice against Muslim women still exists in the legal system”.
In the statement on Sept 5, Maria had referred to Emilia’s seven-day jail sentence and alleged that the shariah legal system was still discriminatory against Muslim women.
Faisal’s lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader said Maria’s comments could cast aspersions on the shariah judicial system since she holds public office.
The lawyer also said that Maria, a former chairman of election watchdog Bersih, had not expressed regret over her statement or retracted her comments.
Emilia was sentenced to seven days’ jail on Sept 4 for unilaterally rescheduling visitation dates for her children to be with their father.
She is out on RM5,000 bail pending an appeal to the shariah appeals court.
The couple divorced in 2016, with Emilia maintaining full custody of their three children, Fawwaz, Faiz and Farhan, and Faisal given visitation rights. - FMT
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