Sumber:
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/hindu-man-cite-sarawakian-case-bid-remove-islam-225700405.html
Hindu man to cite Sarawakian’s case in bid to remove ‘Islam’ from IC
May 12, 2016
The former’s lawyer Nithiyawati Subramaniam noted that Roneey never practised Islam since his birth and that the Kuching High Court had not treated him as a convert to Islam.
Nithiyawati said her Hindu-born client Mohd Sharif Abdullah’s case should similarly not be seen as involving a Muslim convert, but merely revolves around an administrative error regarding his religious status in the national registry.
“So we also want the court to take our case in same light, to treat this case as not conversion case, this is purely misadministration by JPN and KDN to give him status as Muslim,” she told Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday, referring to the National Registration Department (NRD) and the Home Ministry by their acronyms in Malay.
Today will be Mohd Sharif’s final bid at the Federal Court to have the NRD remove the word “Islam” from his Mykad and restore his name at birth ― Mahendra Ghanasan.
Nithiyawati said Mohd Sharif’s case was different from other past court cases involving Lina Joy, Dalip Kaur and Soon Singh Bikar Singh, where their religious statuses as Muslims were clear.
She pointed out that Mohd Sharif was born to Hindu parents, but received an IC at the age of 12 with his name amended and his religion stated as “Islam” after his stepfather Mohd Baser Kalakan filled the application form.
Nithiyawati contended that the NRD was merely relying on a “tick” on the box of “Islam” in the application form in determining Mohd Sharif’s religious status, adding that her client was unsure if the stepfather or NRD officers were the ones who checked the religion box.
She also said the NRD had failed to prove that Mohd Sharif is Muslim, noting that there is no certificate to prove his conversion.
Nithiyawati added that Mohd Sharif had also previously in a sworn statement to the court said he was born as a Hindu and had been practising Hinduism.
“He doesn’t know anything about Islam, he never conducted puasa (Muslim fasting), he never went to mosque, he never read Quran, so he never practised Islamic faith since his birth.
“He never ucap kalimah syahadah (uttered the affirmation of faith), he never said that in front of anyone, in front of mufti, so on what basis can you treat him like a Muslim?” she asked.
“This is purely an error in administration in declaring he is Muslim.”
Nithiyawati said the error has come at great cost to the 36-year-old Mohd Sharif, who had set his hopes on marrying a Hindu woman he loved and who had wanted to go on a Hindu pilgrimage.
“He cannot even get married to the girl he loves. He is going to be about 40 in three to four years time, so you see how this issue has affected his daily life,” she said.
“He is born as Hindu so he wants to die as Hindu, he doesn’t want to be labelled as Muslim. Because he [was never] a Muslim at the first place so he feels it's not good for him to carry the label since he's not practising the religion,” she added.
Mohd Sharif has spent over a decade trying to have his IC details rectified after he realised the severity of the matter, but NRD had in the past rejected his applications for amendment, Nithiyawati said.
In Mohd Sharif’s application for leave to appeal at the Federal Court, he is naming the NRD’s director-general and the Home Minister as the two respondents.
The High Court and the Court of Appeal had previously dismissed Mohd Sharif’s bid to be officially recognised as a Hindu.
Mohd Sharif’s mother and three step-brothers’ bid at the Court of Appeal to have “Islam” removed from their ICs were similarly dismissed last October. Nithiyawati said they decided not to pursue an appeal due to financial constraints.
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