IPOH, Sept 24 — The High Court here has reportedly ruled that a 26-year-old Teluk Intan man is legally a Hindu, saying there was no evidence that he ever professed Islam.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Justice Datuk Bhupinder Singh said he was bound by the Federal Court’s decision in Rosliza Ibrahim’s case, where the apex court concluded that someone raised by a non-Muslim mother without professing Islam could not be deemed Muslim.
“The (Malay Customs Council) officer also confirmed that the plaintiff never converted to Islam based on the state’s records,” the judge was quoted as saying.
The plaintiff was born to a Hindu mother and a Muslim convert father, whose temple marriage was never registered under civil or shariah law.
His father left shortly after he was born, and his mother died when he was eight, leaving him and his sisters to be raised by their aunt.
He reportedly said he had practised Hinduism all his life, but was issued an identity card in 2012 that carried the word “Islam”.
His attempt in 2021 to have the entry amended was rejected by the National Registration Department (JPN), prompting him to file the lawsuit against JPN and the Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPk).
In his judgment, Bhupinder also reportedly dismissed MAIPk’s argument that the man should be regarded as a Muslim because his identity card stated “Islam”.
“An identity card is not conclusive evidence of one’s religious identity. The defendant claimed he is a Muslim, and they need to back up this claim,” Bhupinder was quoted as saying.
The judge also reportedly said that as the plaintiff’s parents were not legally married, he could not automatically be considered to have followed his father’s faith.
