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MALAYSIA: Court Denies Woman's Appeal to Leave Islam

Muslim protestors disrupt public forum on dual leagl system's jurisdictional disputes.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, August 15, 2008 (Compass Direct News) - A civil court on Aug. 5 denied a woman's appeal to renounce Islam in favor of Christianity, highlighting the jurisdictional disputes in Malaysia's dual legal system. Lim Yoke Khoon had filed a suit in her original ethnic Chinese name to renounce Islam and embrace Christianity. In a 2-1 majority ruling, the Shah Alam Court of Appeal denied her case on a technicality: According to judeges Tengku Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud and Sulong Mat Jeraie, Lim had ceased to exist under her original name when she converted to Islam and assumed her new name, Noorashikin Lim binti Abdullah. The 35-year-old Lim is reportedly expected to appeal to the country's top civil court. A public forum to discuss such jurisdictional disputes, in this case the dual court system's effect on families of people who convert to Islam, was scheduled for Saturday (Aug. 9) but Muslim protestors succeeded in halting it after only one hour.

Malaysia
Independent from Britain in 1957 as the Federation of Malaysia. In 1963, Sabah and Sarawak joined to form Malaysia, a federation of 13 states with a constitutional monarchy. Recent years have been dominated by the efforts of the politically powerful Malays to extend their influence over the non-Malay half of the population in educational, economic and religious life. The growing power of fundamentalist Muslim political parties and affirmative action policies which favor the Bumiputera has further polarized the country, with consequent inter-ethnic and inter-religious tensions.

Sunni Islam is the official and favored religion in Peninsula Malaysia, and there is continual pressure to apply the same in East Malaysia, where Islam is a minority. In the 1980s, limitations on religious freedom were introduced. In 1999 the government relaxed some restrictions, such as on places of worship, the issue of missionary visas, public meetings and publications. It is illegal to proselytize Muslims, but considerable effort is expended to induce animistic tribal people and Chinese to become Muslim.

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