Body snatching: Syariah court can't cite kin

Lawyers familiar with cases of conversion say the Negri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Department (JHEAINS) cannot cite the family of the late Lawrence Selvanathan for contempt of the syariah court for cremating his remains.

According to noted syariah lawyer Muhamad Burok, this is because the family is Christian - hence, they do not fall under the jurisdiction of the syariah court.

When contacted, Muhamad (right) said, "The jurisdiction of the syariah court, according to the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Negri Sembilan) Enactment 2003, only extends to cases where all parties are Muslim. This is the law, but if there is a clause that allows (the contempt action) then let me know."

Agreeing with him, lawyer M Kulasegaran said the federal constitution, through the inclusion of clause (1A) into Article 121, clearly states that Malaysia practices two parallel legal systems and that the High Courts has "no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the syariah court".

Kulasegaran said, "It also states that the syariah court has jurisdiction only "over persons professing the religion of Islam. In view of this, the law does not apply to non-Muslims, subpoenas don't apply and it is my view that contempt also does not apply."

The lawyer, Kulasegaran, who is also DAP's Ipoh Barat MP and acted for the late Everest mountaineer M Moorthy's wife in the controversial body snatching case in 2005, said, "This would therefore extend to the syariah court order obtained by JHEAINS to stop Lawrence's funeral on Sept 22 as well.

The family can look at all this with impunity," said Kulasegaran.