PENANG, 16 March 2009: The Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAIPP) appeal to set aside the decision by the Penang Syariah High Court which declared that Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah @ Tan Ean Huang, 39, was no longer a Muslim was dismissed today.
Penang Shariah Appeals Court Syarie Chief Judge/Director of the Malaysian Syariah Judicial Department Datuk Ibrahim Lembut made the decision after hearing submissions by both the lawyers for the appellant (MAIPP) and Siti Fatimah as respondent in the case.
Ibrahim, who led the quorum of three judges who also comprised Datuk Muhammad Asri Abdullah and Datuk Abu Bakar Ahmad, unanimously decided that the respondent was not practising Islam properly.
“The appeal application by the appellant is dismissed and the decision of the Penang High Court on 8 May 2008 is upheld,” he said.
In May last year, the presiding judge then, Othman Ibrahim declared that Siti Fatimah was no longer a Muslim and the court ordered the MAIPP to revoke her registration certificate that declared her as a Muslim.
However, Ibrahim dismissed Siti Fatimah’s application for a court order to have the word Islam on her identity card erased on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction on the matter and asked Siti Fatimah to deal with the National Registration Department personally on the matter. — Bernama
