KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed Oct 24 to deliver its decision on an application by the government and the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) to strike out a man's legal challenge over his religious status.
Justice Aliza Sulaiman set the date after hearing submissions from parties here on Tuesday (Oct 14).
Shehzad Malik Muhammad Sarwar Malik, 29, is seeking a court declaration that he was a practising Sikh and never practised or professed Islam willingly.
Lawyers Ahmad Kamal Abu Bakar and Arik Zakri Abdul Kadir, who represented MAIWP, said this was a renunciation case which fell within the Syariah Court's jurisdiction.
They submitted that the "proper channel" for the applicant to bring forward his case was at the Syariah court.
According to the respondents, Shehzad Malik was born a Muslim to Muslim parents.
"His father is from Pakistan. This is not a case of child conversion but a case of renunciation. Therefore, it falls within the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts.
"A Muslim mother cannot convert her Muslim baby into Sikhism. She does not have the power," Ahmad Kamal said.
He contended that the legal challenge before the civil court was unsustainable and should be struck off as it falls rightly within the purview of the Syariah court.
Senior Federal Counsel Zairani Tugiran, who represented the government, submitted that the applicant himself had indicated that he was a Muslim when he filled in his form for the national identification card.
Meanwhile, Shehzad's lawyer Rajesh Nadarajan argued that this was not a case which could be summarily struck out at an early stage, as there were matters which needed the civil court's determination.
He said Shehzad was raised by his mother and uncle as a Sikh.
"That is why we are here in the civil court, because it is our position that this is an ab initio (from the beginning) case," Rajesh added.
Shehzad filed the originating summons in December 2023.
He claimed that at the time of his birth in June 1996, his parents professed the religion of Islam, but his mother had raised him as a Sikh.
After his mother died in 2007, Shehzad said he was raised by his uncle, who similarly professed and prflashactised Sikhism.
He is seeking a court declaration that his religious status per the National Registration Department's (NRD) record be "amended and corrected" to Sikh instead of Islam and that his name be changed from “Shehzad Malik Bin Muhammad Sarwar Malik” to “Bilawal Singh Bhutter”.
