Maria Chin to show cause for alleged disrespect of shariah court
(FMT) – Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, who landed in trouble for criticising the shariah court’s decision to jail the former wife of Naza Group chairman SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin, has been ordered to show cause for contempt.
A three-member Syariah Court of Appeal bench chaired by Amran Mat Zain dismissed her application for extension of time to challenge a High Court order to grant leave to Faizal to begin contempt proceedings.
Lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kadir, appearing for Faisal, said the bench ordered Maria to show cause in the Syariah High Court without further delay.
“She 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 proceeding.
Maria declined to comment and said she would leave it to her lawyers to advise on the next course of action.
On Sept 4, 2019, Faisal’s former wife, Emilia Hanafi, was sentenced to seven days’ jail for unilaterally rescheduling visitation dates for her children to be with their father.
She is out on bail of RM5,000 pending an appeal to the Syariah Court of Appeal.
The couple divorced in 2016, with Emilia maintaining full custody of their three children – Fawwaz, Faiz and Farhan – and Faisal given visitation rights.
The following day, Maria issued a statement which reportedly said the shariah legal system was still discriminatory against Muslim women.
On Oct 14, High Court judge Fouzi Mokhtar ruled Maria’s statement had brought down the reputation of the religious court.
