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KUALA LUMPUR – The high court has thrown out an application by the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (Maips) that sought leave to be made a party to the divorce proceedings of Loh Siew Hong and her incarcerated ex-husband Nagashwaran Muniandy.
Judge Evrol Mariette Peters’ ruling on the matter effectively bars Maips from access to Loh’s three underage children, who were unilaterally converted to Islam by their father.
According to Malaysiakini, Peters noted that Maips had failed to prove that it is an interested party concerning the children’s well-being and that the religious body failed to seek the views of Nagashwaran in their attempt to modify Loh’s custody order over her children.
In April, Maips – through their lead counsel Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla – applied for leave to become a party to Loh and her husband’s finalised divorce declaration, citing the need to ensure the proper Islamic upbringing of her three underage children.
Haniff had argued that it is the council’s statutory responsibility to ensure Loh’s converted children receive the aid they require.
He had submitted that the three converted minors are classified as asnaf (eligible recipients of tithes) and can receive aid from zakat contributions, and that these forms of assistance are Maips’ main priorities.
In response, Loh’s lawyer, A. Srimurugan, argued that this was an invasion of privacy and an abuse of the court process.
He asserted that the legality of the three children’s unilateral conversion by Loh’s ex-husband still remains in question and is subject to ongoing court proceedings.
Loh’s plight recently made headlines after she was refused permission to meet with her children, whom she had been trying to locate for the past three years since being discharged from a hospital.
She had lost contact with the three children while undergoing treatment for injuries purportedly stemming from an abusive marriage with her ex-husband.
It was during this time that Nagashwaran is said to have unilaterally converted the children into Islam in Perlis without Loh’s knowledge, following his own conversion.
After the change of faith, Nagashwaran was convicted and imprisoned for narcotics-related charges.
In February, the high court granted Loh a habeas corpus writ against the unlawful detention of her children and she successfully regained custody of them. – The Vibes, June 15, 2022
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