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KUALA LUMPUR: Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, who got into trouble for criticizing the sharia court’s decision to imprison the ex-wife of the Naza Group president, SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin, was ordered to present grounds of contempt.
A three-member appeals court of Syariah, chaired by Amran Mat Zain, dismissed his request for an extension to challenge a High Court order authorizing Faizal to initiate contempt proceedings.
Lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kadir, who appeared on Faisal’s behalf, said the court ordered Maria to show case in the Syariah High Court without further delay.
“He was also ordered to pay RM6,000 in costs to Faisal,” he told FMT.
Others on the bench were Othman Ibrahim and Mohamad Shakir Abdul Hamid.
Faisal and Maria were present in court to follow today’s proceedings.
Maria declined to comment and said she would let her lawyers advise on the next course of action.
On September 4, 2019, Faisal’s ex-wife, Emilia Hanafi, was sentenced to seven days in jail for unilaterally rescheduling her children’s visitation dates to be with their father.
He is out on bail of RM5,000 pending an appeal to the Sharia Court of Appeal.
The couple divorced in 2016, and Emilia retained full custody of their three children, Fawwaz, Faiz and Farhan, and Faisal received visitation rights.
The next day, Maria issued a statement that reportedly said that the sharia legal system still discriminated against Muslim women.
On October 14, Supreme Court Justice Fouzi Mokhtar ruled that Maria’s statement had brought down the reputation of the religious court.
