Judge sets April 19 to decide whether to recuse from Maips hearing

 

A judge has set April 19 to decide whether she should withdraw from hearing an application by a state Islamic body to be allowed to give Islamic guidance to the three unilaterally-converted children of Loh Siew Hong.

Evrol Mariette Petters, a judge of the High Court (family and divorce civil jurisdiction) in Kuala Lumpur, told this to lawyers for both the single mother as well as the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Etiquette Council (Maips).

The judge was responding to Maips' lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who said that they have earlier written a letter to the court dated March 20 for her to recuse herself from the case.

Today was fixed for case management of Maips' application to vary the custody order granted to Loh involving the children, who were unilaterally converted by her Muslim convert former husband Muhammad Nagahswaran Muniandy. The estranged former couple are both aged 35.

According to a copy of the letter signed by lead counsel Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar, Maips sought Peters’ recusal as she was the judge who on June 15 last year had denied the council’s bid to intervene in the civil divorce proceedings between Loh and Nagahswaran.

However on Feb 7 this year, the Court of Appeal quashed this ruling and allowed Maips to intervene in Loh’s divorce proceedings, paving the way for the council to then apply to vary the custodial order over the three children.

Through the letter, Maips claimed that Peters had erred in her ruling by touching on the merits of the issue of the children’s religious status and the application to vary the custodial order.

Maips alleged that this state of affairs required a different judge to hear the application.

In a media statement last year, the council said it sought a court order to vary the custody order so that it could provide Islamic education to the children while being under their non-Muslim mother’s care.

The council said that it sought to vary the terms of the custody order and open access for it to give Islamic educational assistance to the three children.

Maips said the assistance would include guidance on Islamic teachings, not limited to the principles of halal and haram food, as well as financial support via zakat and other aid channelled to the children through Loh.

Divorce proceedings

The council emphasised that it was not seeking to interfere or take any side in the divorce proceedings between Loh (above) and Nagahswaran, as the matter was merely between the estranged couple.

“Maips’ role is merely to ensure that the welfare and aqidah (belief) of the muallaf (recent convert to Islam) children are always safeguarded due to their being very committed as Muslims, and so that they would receive needed support and help in terms of finance, education and social-wise.

“Despite being under Loh’s custody, the three children can be seen expressing desire and wish (iktikad dan keazaman) via action and behaviour to remain in Islam, still practising its edicts (Islamic syariat).

"In fact, several media reports said they perform Subuh (dawn) prayer, and when one of them (children) was asked by a journalist, (the child) replied wanting to be a syarie lawyer upon adulthood,” the council said.

Full custody

Nagahswaran was alleged to have unilaterally converted the children to Islam without Loh’s knowledge and consent in 2020.

The civil court granted full custody to the single mother on March 31 2021, and decree nisi (to annul Loh’s marriage to Nagahswaran) on Sept 23 the same year.

Today the civil court fined him RM20,000 for contempt of court involving allegedly running off with the children and unilaterally converting them.

Loh was only reunited with her children - twin girls aged 15 and a boy aged 11 now - following an order issued by the High Court (criminal jurisdiction) in Kuala Lumpur early last year.

Loh also has a separate court action to nullify the children’s unilateral conversion, with the verdict coming up on May 11. - Mkini