Court Bins Maiwp Govt Application To Strike Out Sikh Declaration Case

---

 


The Kuala Lumpur High Court has dismissed two strike-out applications, filed separately by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the government, against a 29-year-old man who sought to declare himself a Sikh instead of a Muslim.
Judge Aliza Sulaiman binned the application in an online proceeding today, after finding that the court needs to decide on the matter based on case merits, and made no order as to costs.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Rajesh Nagarajan, confirmed the decision to Malaysiakini when contacted this morning. He added that the court has fixed Nov 5 for case management.
During the application hearing on Oct 14, MAIWP and the government submitted that there are proper channels for individuals seeking to renounce Islam and that such a case should be heard before the Syariah Court, as it has the jurisdiction to do so, instead of the case being filed and heard in a civil court.
ADSHowever, this was rebutted by Rajesh, who submitted that the case before Aliza was not about a Muslim man seeking to renounce Islam but a declaration that he is a Sikh man, and that there was nothing for the plaintiff to renounce, given that he had been practising Sikhism his whole life.
Raised a Sikh
The application was filed by Shehzad Malik Sanwar Malik in 2023, seeking declarations from the court, including one that he professed and practised Sikhism instead of Islam willingly throughout his whole life, despite being born a Muslim.
He was also seeking a court order to declare his legal name as Bilawal Singh Bhutter, and to amend as well as correct his religious status in the National Registration Department’s record as “Sikh” instead of “Islam”.
“The plaintiff acknowledges Sikhism as his religion and asserts that he has been educated with the beliefs and doctrines of Sikhism.
“The plaintiff relies on his rights to profess and practise Sikhism, which is a constitutional right conferred by Article 11 of the Constitution, which is a fundamental human right as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 by the United Nations and various other human rights instruments,” the affidavits stated.
In his supporting affidavits, he claimed that his mother was a Sikh by birth who had converted to Islam and married his Muslim father from Pakistan on Aug 2, 1993.
However, his mother raised him as a Sikh, and he continued to be raised as a Sikh by his uncle after his mother passed away in 2017.
“I am not an individual willingly professing and practising the religion of Islam.”
Emphasising his intention to maintain his Sikh faith and beliefs, he said he regards the religion as his only path to spiritual well-being, peace of mind, and personal happiness. - Mkini

---