Judge knew ex-couple in unilateral conversion appeal, recuses self

 

A Court of Appeal judge knew a formerly married couple now engaged in a legal tussle over the unilateral conversion of their two children.

As a result, judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera (above) today decided to recuse himself from a hearing of the appeal involving a Muslim convert mother and a Buddhist father.

The matter was set for hearing of an appeal by the woman and the Federal Territory Muallaf Registrar to reinstate the Islamic conversion certificate of the two children, now in primary school.

They are appealing against a Kuala Lumpur High Court order allowing the father’s bid to invalidate the Islamic conversion certificate of the two children.

However, the hearing today has been postponed to June 29 due to Vazeer’s recusal.

“I have to recuse myself as the parties are known to me,” Vazeer said during open court proceedings this morning.

The two other members of the Court of Appeal bench are judges Lau Bee Lan and Mohd Sofian Abd Razak.

When met after proceedings, the father’s counsel K Shanmuga and the woman’s lawyer Arham Rahimy Hariri confirmed that Vazeer has recused himself from the matter.  

This is the second time that the appeal proceedings saw one of the Court of Appeal bench members recusing from the matter.

On June 25, 2019, judge Mary Lim Thiam Suan recused herself from the panel, following objections raised by both parties.

Lim previously presided over the former married couples' appeals, related to custody for the two children, at both the Court of Appeal and Federal Court.

On Jan 15 last year, the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by the mother against a lower court ruling granting custody to the father.

As a result, the main legal battle now centres on the tussle over the validity of the Islamic conversion certificate of the two children.

Due to an existing court order, the names of the former married couple and her children are not allowed to be published by the media.

On June 14, 2016, the father, who is also a businessperson, filed the judicial review application at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, to challenge his then wife's unilateral conversion of their two children, then aged eight for the daughter and aged four for the son. 

The man wanted the court to quash the certificate of conversion, and a prohibition order to prevent the respondents or their agents from registering them as Muslims.

The High Court later had allowed the father’s legal challenge to quash the Islamic conversion certificates of the two children.

His former wife and the Federal Territory Muallaf Registrar had then appealed to the Court of Appeal. - Mkini