Advertisement

Women’s rights groups condemn Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin’s jail sentence for ‘insulting’ Islamic judicial system

Maria Chin Abdullah speaks to reporters at Parliament August 16, 2018. — Picture by Miera Zulyana
Maria Chin Abdullah speaks to reporters at Parliament August 16, 2018. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) today “strongly condemned” the jail sentence meted out to Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah over her criticism of the Shariah legal system.

In a statement today, the coalition of women’s rights groups said that the issue raised by Maria Chin in her 2019 statement, which led to her being sued at the Kuala Lumpur Shariah High Court, is not an isolated incident.

It added that many survivors faced injustices when it came to the protection of their rights under the Shariah legal system.

The group also labelled the decision as “disproportionate and clearly unreasonable”.

“As a member of Parliament, Maria has both the right to freedom of expression and the duty to address injustice and inequalities, including that which takes place through any legal system, Shariah or civil. Maria is one of the beacons who speak for gender equality and women’s lived realities and her role should not be undermined.

“Prosecuting Maria is not only oppressive and appalling, but it also serves as a form of intimidation, a consistent pattern of silencing women who have faced injustice as a result of legal and religious interpretations of the law,” the coalition said.

The Kuala Lumpur Shariah High Court yesterday sentenced Maria Chin to one week in jail for contempt of court over her statement that had reportedly “insulted” the Islamic judicial system.

Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported that the decision was over Maria Chin’s statement on September 5, 2019, in which she remarked that Muslim women in Malaysia are still being discriminated against under the Shariah judicial system.

She had said this in response to a one-week jail term given to Emilia Hanafi, the ex-wife of Naza Group chairman Datuk SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin, for rescheduling his visiting days with their children.

National news agency Bernama reported Syarie judge Mohamed Fouzi Mokhtar as saying that the article published by Maria Chin on September 5, 2019 had belittled, demeaned and insulted the Shariah Court.

Bernama also reported that the judge had granted a stay of execution pending an appeal to be filed at the Shariah Court of Appeal.

“While we welcome the decision of the Federal Territory Shariah High Court to suspend the sentence on Maria pending appeal, JAG stands in solidarity with Maria as freedom of expression and speech is enshrined in our Federal Constitution under Article 10(a) which states that ‘every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression’,” JAG added.

Related Articles Shariah court sentences Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin to one week jail for ‘insulting’ Islamic judicial system Withdraw appeal against High Court decision granting Malaysian women equal citizenship rights — Joint Action Group for Gender Equality Women’s groups demand deputy women’s minister Siti Zailah step down for ‘normalising’ domestic violence