Court allows JJ’s wife, children to stake claim

Legally entitled: Aminah leaving the Syariah High Court in Kuala Lumpur after applying for a ‘faraid’ certificate over Jamaluddin’s estate.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Syariah High Court here has allowed the wife and children of the late Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis to intervene in an application for faraid (inheri­tance and wealth distribution) certificate filed by his mother over the deceased’s RM2.082bil estate.

Syarie lawyer Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman said there was no objection from her client, Aminah Abdullah, 84, for Jamaluddin’s family to intervene. Jamaluddin died in a helicopter crash in April 2015.

“Today’s matter was fixed for case management as the widow and children have applied to intervene. There is no respondent in the application.

“We welcome (the intervention) as this is a matter among the next of kin,” she told reporters when met at the Syariah Court Complex here yesterday.

Aminah filed the application for faraid certificate through Messrs Kamar Ainiah & Co on March 2.

Under Islamic law, a living ­mother has the right to one-sixth of the estate while a living widow has the right to one-eighth of the portion.

Living children will receive the remaining of the estate.

The application was brought up for case management before Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court registrar Siti Zulaiha Mohamad Mansor who fixed another case management on Sept 13.

In her affidavit, Aminah said Dr Jamaluddin was survived by herself, his wife Puan Sri Kalsom Ismail, 62, son Ikwan Hafiz, 31, and three daughters, Nur Anis, 33, Nurul Alyaa, 27, and Noor Adilla, 23.

Jamaluddin’s father, Mohd Jarjis Md Ali, had passed on before him in 2002.

“I solely believe that myself and the other heirs have a rightful claim over the deceased’s estate,” she said in the affidavit.

Kamar Ainiah said Jamaluddin’s assets include 20 properties in Malaysia, the United States of America and Mecca, Saudi Arabia and several companies.

She said Jamaluddin did not leave a will and the percentage of the wealth distribution will follow the faraid law.

Jamaluddin, who was the former science, technology and innovation minister, died alongside five other people in a helicopter crash in Semenyih, Selangor on April 4, 2015.

Besides being the Rompin MP, Jamaluddin was the Ambassador to the United States and at one time held the portfolio as Second Finance Minister as well as being Tenaga Nasional chairman.

He had started out as a lecturer in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia before embarking on his colourful career as a politician and diplomat.