Woman bids to cite Kota Tinggi's Islamic officers for contempt of court over threats on unilateral conversion lawsuit
KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — A Johor woman has applied to the High Court to start contempt of court proceedings against officers of the Kota Tinggi district Islamic religious council, over their alleged threats and harassment against her over her lawsuit challenging laws enabling unilateral conversion.
In her application filed at the High Court here on April 12, the Johor woman sought for leave to apply for a committal order or contempt of court order against five officers of the Kota Tinggi Islamic religious council.
In her application, the woman claimed the five Islamic religious council officers had gone to her house and allegedly threatened and disturbed and scolded her at her own house, due to her filing a lawsuit on unilateral conversion laws.
She claimed that the actions of these five officers amounted to an “obstruction of the due course of justice” and contempt of court.
In an affidavit to support her application, she said that even with the ongoing suit, the Islamic council's officers had "intimidated and disturbed" her to the point she does "not feel safe" even in her own house.
The woman pointed out that she is one of the plaintiffs and a potential witness.
The High Court has set May 2 as the case management date for the woman’s application to initiate the contempt of court proceedings.
In contempt proceedings, the court is required to give leave if it wishes to hear the case before deciding if the individuals in the case are guilty of contempt of court.
Malay Mail is withholding the identity of the woman for her personal safety. She is alleged to be a victim of unilateral conversion to Islam when she was a child.
Previously on March 30, the woman lodged a police report on the five officers’ visit to her house, claiming that they had scolded her for filing the lawsuit against the Johor state government. She is both a plaintiff and a witness in that lawsuit.
In the same police report, the woman said those officers had scolded her for not wearing a tudung (Muslim headscarf) in her own home.
She said the officers had breached her privacy by taking videos and photos of her, her three young children and her house without her permission. She added that she had lodged the police report out of fear and worry for the safety of herself and her children.
On March 3, this woman along with 13 others filed a lawsuit against eight laws enabling unilateral conversion to Islam in seven states and Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.
The eight respondents in the lawsuit were named as the state governments of Perlis, Kedah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Johor and the government of the federal territories of Malaysia.
In that lawsuit, she said she was converted to Islam as a child in Johor by only one of her parents and without consent from the other parent but did not profess Islam and instead practised Hinduism.
The High Court has scheduled May 8 for case management of the lawsuit.
Arun Dorasamy or Arumugam Dorasamy — who is also one of the 14 plaintiffs who had filed the lawsuit — had previously on March 30 said the officers’ visit was a “harassment”, and had said the woman has been raised as a Hindu, always practised Hindusim, and was married to a Hindu husband with all her children also practising Hinduism.
