FILM director Syamsul Yusof does not want to divorce his wife, actress Puteri Sarah, the Syariah Lower Court in Kuala Lumpur was told today.
Syariah lawyer Roshdan Sujak, representing Syamsul, whose real name is Mohd Shamsul Md Yusof, 39, said his client had received the divorce application but did not agree to the divorce.
Puteri Sarah, 38, whose full name is Puteri Sarah Liyana Megat Kamaruddin, filed for divorce under Section 47 of the Islamic Family Law Act (Federal Territories) 1984 on January 16.
In the application, she stated that she intended to divorce her husband with the permission of the court on the grounds that there was no more understanding and prolonged shiqaq (disagreement) between them. She also stated they could no longer live together as husband and wife according to the Syariah law.
Her lawyer, Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, then requested for the application to go through the family arbitration process without going through the reconciliation committee (JKP).
“According to my client, there is no prospect of saving the marriage. They have been living apart for a long time, and there was no communication other than prolonged shiqaq. Therefore, we request to go through the family arbitration process,” he said.
However, Roshdan objected to the request, saying that the matter should go through the JKP first.
The JKP committee consists of a religious official, normally from the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) as chairman and two other people, one to act on behalf of the husband and the other for the wife, with priority given to close relatives of the couple.
“There is no unusual situation to proceed with the family arbitration process without going through the JKP because there is still light in their relationship, so we cannot 'skip' the JKP process," said Roshdan.
Akberdin argued that the prospect for his client to be together with Syamsul was ‘zero’ because the defendant had not returned home for a long time and practiced polygamy without his client’s permission.
Roshdan however told the court that it was not his client who left the matrimonial home.
Judge Syarie Akmaluddin Ilyas then ordered the couple to appoint their representative as a member of the JKP and set April 10 for the JKP to submit its report.
At today’s proceeding, the court also dismissed Syamsul’s application to compel Puteri Sarah from issuing statements about their domestic life outside the court. – Bernama, March 7, 2023
