M’sian Sikhs dismayed over Mohan Singh’s conversion

(The Star) – The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council expressed their dismay at the High Court’s decision which ruled that deceased art director Mohan Singh was a Muslim convert, and that the matter came under the jurisdiction of the Syariah court.

Council president Jagir Singh said that Mohan’s family members, applicants in the civil case, were non-Muslims and had no locus standi in a Syariah court.

“The applicants, including the wife and child are also affected as the declaration of the deceased as a Muslim would also affect their inheritance rights.

“The council feels that the family members should not be shut out and be without a remedy,” he said in a press statement on Monday.

Mohan married Sarawakian Alice Ajan in 1997 in a civil ceremony and they had a daughter. They separated in 1999.

Jagir added that another unsatisfactory feature was that the state Islamic laws provided that conversion certificates were conclusive proof of conversion and could not be challenged in court.

“In matters of religion and conversion, such provisions are bound to cause injustice to family members, and such deeming clauses which oust the jurisdiction of the court to examine the validity of conversion should be repealed,” he said.