Court rules businessman cannot intervene in Maria Chin’s shariah contempt order challenge

The High Court says SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin has no direct interest in Maria Chin Abdullah’s legal challenge.

(FMT) – The High Court here has dismissed a businessman’s application to intervene in former Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah’s legal challenge against a show-cause order issued by the shariah court over an allegedly contemptuous statement she made about the Islamic judicial system.

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan, appearing for Maria, said SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin’s intervener application was rejected by Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.

The judge ruled that Faisal had no direct interest in the matter.

Faisal sought to intervene in Maria’s judicial review application after not being named as a co-respondent in the proceedings before the High Court.

On Apr 25 last year, a shariah high court found Maria guilty of contempt and sentenced her to seven days’ jail over a statement she had issued on Sept 5, 2019.

In the statement, Maria claimed that “Muslim women (were) still being discriminated (against) under Malaysia’s shariah legal system”.

She issued the statement after the shariah court sentenced Faisal’s former wife, Emilia Hanafi, to imprisonment for rescheduling his visits with their children. She said the decision had caused “a grave injustice” and was “a total disgrace to the judicial system”.

Faisal then filed an application to initiate contempt proceedings against her in the shariah court.

On Aug 22, 2022, Maria secured leave of the High Court to commence her current judicial review application.

She says the shariah court’s show-cause order was made in bad faith, and wants the High Court to quash it.