Malaysian Islamic body says right to separate couple

The Straits Times, May 14, 2007


KUALA LUMPUR - ISLAMIC authorities in Malaysia insist they were right to detain a Muslim woman living with her Hindu husband, a marriage considered illegal under local laws that are straining religious and race relations, a news report said.

Many such cases have surfaced in recent months, resulting in an outcry in the public who say minority rights are being compromised by the dominance of Islam in the country.

The Islamic Religious Department, known by Malay acronym Jais, said it acted within the law when removing the woman from her home late last month for illegally cohabiting with a Hindu man after the couple failed to show any 'relevant marriage documents', The Star reported on Monday.

'Certain media reports had made out the detention to be a case of Jais trying to break up families. That is not true at all,' the daily quoted Jais director Mohammed Khusrin Munawi as saying.

Although the article did not name the woman or man, the case appears to be that of ethnic Indian Hindu truck driver Magendran Sababathy, 25, who filed a suit last Tuesday asking a high court to order Jais to free his wife.

Officials raided the couple's home on April 28 and took away Ms Najeera Farvinli Mohamed Jalali, telling Mr Magendran their year-old marriage under Hindu rites was illegal since she was a Muslim.

The Star quoted Mr Khusrin as saying that no coercion was used, and the woman herself asked Jais to put her in a rehabilitation centre, where erring Muslims are given lessons to strengthen their faith.

'It is clear Jais is not prejudiced or acted irrationally in this matter,' Mr Khusrin was quoted as saying.

Under Malaysia's Islamic or Shariah laws, anyone marrying a Muslim must convert to Islam, and anyone born into a Muslim family cannot legally convert to another faith.

Muslims - nearly 60 per cent of Malaysia's 26 million people - are governed by Islamic Shariah laws in family and personal matters.

Separate civil laws apply to others.

Mr Magendran's lawyer Karpal Singh has alleged Ms Najeera's detention is illegal because no detention order was served on her. Mr Magendran said last Wednesday he was not told where she was taken and had not seen her since. -- AP