Johor Sultan grants audience to Illi Najwa who married Indian hockey player

Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar. - filepic

JOHOR BARU: Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has granted an audience to Illi Najwa Saddique who courted controversy in December last year for holding a marriage ceremony with Indian national hockey captain Manpreet Singh Pawar in a Sikh temple in Punjab, India.

Also present during the meeting held at the Mados office in Istana Bukit Pelangi here on Thursday (March 18), were state mufti Datuk Yahya Ahmad and Johor Religious Islamic Department (JAINJ) director Datuk Md Rofiki Shamsudin.

During the audience, Yahya presented the investigation report from JAINJ about the marriage and religious status of Illi Najwa and her partner.

He added that a thorough investigation has been carried out and the department found that Illi Najwa was still a Muslim.

“JAINJ has called up Illi Najwa and her mother as well as several other witnesses and record their statements.

“Investigations revealed that Illi Najwa never renounce Islam and today she is with us to have an audience with His Majesty, ” he said in a statement posted on Sultan Ibrahim’s official Facebook page here on Thursday.

Yahaya also added that the couple’s wedding registration here was in the process.

“There is no problem registering their marriage and this issue is over, ” he said.

In December last year, Sultan Ibrahim decreed that JAINJ and the state Mufti department investigate the religious status of Illi Najwa who married the Indian hockey player.

His Majesty said that as the head of Islam in Johor, he was responsible for upholding its position to make sure the faith is preserved in line with Clause 57 of the Undang-Undang Tubuh Kerajaan Negeri Johor 1895 and Federal Constitution.

Illi, a niece of National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique, had courted controversy when she posted news of her travelling to India to get married to Manpreet and when videos of her wedding in Punjab in a Sikh ceremony went viral.

Malaysians on social media questioned her being given special permission to travel during the movement control order, as well as whether it was right for her as a Muslim to take part in a Sikh religious ceremony.