Fathers' group pleads for more 'caring' court judgments

 

It is yet another Father’s Day that entrepreneur Sheikh Faleigh Sheikh Mansor will not be spending with his two children from a previous marriage.

It has also been a decade since Faleigh (above) was separated from his ex-wife, a situation that led to two years of divorce proceedings and an eight-year-long custody battle, during which he had limited contact with his two children. 

Together with other men in similar circumstances, Faleigh co-founded the Father’s Rights Association of Malaysia (FRAM), where he now also serves as honorary secretary. 

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Faleigh revealed he had last year “ended” his own battle in the Syariah Court after multiple delays involving four judges in eight years and still no resolution in sight. 

“I just can’t wait anymore,” said Faleigh, who runs several businesses with dealings in Malaysia and Indonesia, and has since remarried with four more children.

“And (now) my (two oldest) kids don’t want to see (anymore) anyway,” he said, noting that estrangement is a common issue for fathers who were allegedly denied access to their children.

Having moved on from the court system, Faleigh noted that many other fathers continue to hope for a more favourable outcome from judges presiding over their cases. 

As such, in conjunction with Father’s Day, Faleigh said FRAM appealed to judges handling custody cases to be more caring and exercise more of their discretion when issuing related court orders.

Most judgments favour mothers

He suggested that judges can include specific details beyond the number of permitted visitation days and location of permitted visits, for example, to order a mother to allow their child to see their fathers on special occasions such as Father’s Day or birthdays. 

“When it comes to divorce cases, the court and the judges have to be more caring in terms of dealing with this.

“Divorce cases are very sensitive,” Faleigh said, noting how “most judgments” would be made in favour of the mother. 

He noted that men who suffered in such cases are less likely to speak up, even when they felt victimised. 

“Men don’t talk about these things, about missing their children. It’s not a macho thing for men to share their feelings,” said Faleigh.

Going through the Malaysian court process, Faleigh claimed that either parent can be disadvantaged by a single judge’s determination of their individual characters.

This is unlike judicial systems where juries are tasked to come up with the verdict, such as in the United States.

“Different judges may have different perceptions of how a father and mother are. 

“Judges have the discretion to come up with a decision based on what he or she thinks (about) the character of the plaintiff and defendant,” he said.

In certain cases, Faleigh claimed there were fathers who failed in their custody bid supposedly because their lawyers were “less experienced” compared to the ones who represented their ex-wives. 

As such, he proposed for the court to request additional elements such as a mandatory “aptitude test” by a recognised third party for its consideration.

“We would like to suggest to the court system, not to the judge, where both defendant and the plaintiff should go for an aptitude test. 

“You should have another element of decision (that) not just based on the evidence and testimony that is prepared by both parties.

“At least you have another avenue of input as evidence of the individual characters,” he said.

At the same time, Faleigh noted that judges should also be more open to engage with children in custody battles and to seek their opinions where permissible by the law. 

‘Shared parenting’ 

Overall, Faleigh said FRAM, including through engagements with the government on proposed legal reforms, have advocated for courts to recognise a “shared parenting” concept that provides more flexibility to affected children.

“It is important to note that shared parenting does not imply a single time in a child’s life. Instead, it refers to a childhood-long parenting plan. 

“The plan is reviewed periodically and adapted to fit a child’s emotional, scholastic and physical needs as they grow,” said FRAM, according to the group’s official website. 

Faleigh said it has been two years since FRAM first initiated its engagement with the government and they will continue the process, starting with a planned visit to Parliament soon. - Mkini