Hundreds of people gathered at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) this morning after the Syariah High Court yesterday ordered that the remains of Mount Everest hero M Moorthy be buried according Islamic rites.

There has been tussle over the remains of the former army commando ( left ), who died on Tuesday. He had reportedly converted to Islam without his family's knowledge. The family has since filed a civil suit over the matter.

The crowd at the hospital began to swell at about 10 am as a meeting proceeded inside between Moorthy's widow, Kaliammal Sinnasamy, her lawyer A Sivanesan and HKL director Dr Azmi Shafie.

Also present were Federal Territory Islamic Department (Jawi) Che Mat Che Ali, DAP parliamentarian M Kula segaran and two army generals.

The crowd was said to have comprised former colleagues of the 36-year-old wheelchair-bound army commando and curious onlookers.

The meeting was held to discuss whether the remains should be accorded Islamic or Hindu funeral rites.

Soldiers present?

Contacted later, Sivanesan said he and Moorthy's family members 'feared for their lives' as a large number of soldiers were present among the crowd.

"If they were indeed army soldiers, then the army has to explain itself. They should stop bringing them here. This is not a military state where they can do this kind of thing," he added.

As for the meeting, Sivanesan said Azmi at first told Kaliammal that her husband's remains would be released to Jawi.

This was because a directive from the Syariah court stated that as a Muslim, he should be given an Islamic burial and the police should ensure this, added the lawyer.

"I told them that the order issued by the Syariah court was not applicable on HKL as the hospital is not a Muslim organisation but a government body. HKL does not have to comply with the order.

"I also requested them to call the Attorney-General's Chambers to obtain its legal opinion on the matter while Kaliammal also told Azmi that she wants her husband as he is a Hindu," he said.

High Court's verdict

Sivanesan said upon Azmi's initial refusal to concede to Kaliammal's requests and his insistence on following the Syariah court's directive, they "left the meeting in protest".

However, he added that the hospital director relented after discussing with Che Mat.

Azmi later told reporters that HKL would not release the body to Jawi until the High Court had decided on the matter.

The family's suit will be heard on Dec 27.

Meanwhile, a Bernama report stated that tensions ran high this morning when some 50 people began shouting at the family members but police personnel at the scene kept the situation under control.

Contacted later, Dang Wangi deputy district police chief Rodzi Ismail said the crowd was mainly made up of 'curious onlookers'.