The Shah Alam High Court has been asked to determine every claim of conversion to Islam in its entirety, and not confine the ruling to the question of legal jurisdiction.

Lawyer Balwant Singh Sidhu said the case involving deceased film director Mohan Singh is not merely about getting his remains so that a funeral can be conducted, but also about inheritance by the next-of-kin.

He is representing the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism.

“The council feels that the civil court is the right forum to decide on the issue of (Mohan’s) alleged conversion. This concerns inheritance because his next-of-kin are all non-Muslims,” he said today in his submission.

“All conversion cases must be looked at in their entirety and not solely from the point of jurisdiction. These must be decided based on their merits. I submit that in this matter the civil court has the jurisdiction to make a decision.”

abdul hamid mohamad and judiciary judge 021107 Balwant cited a paragraph from an article by former Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad (left) , who wrote: ‘Any such cases like Dalip Kaur it must be heard based on its merits and not only jurisdiction.’

Going by that, Balwant said the court must also consider that Mohan's next-of-kin are non-Muslims and hence, the civil court is the right platform for their case.

The federal government is represented by senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and the Selangor government by deputy state legal adviser Md Azhari Abu Hanit.

Mais is represented by Hanif Khatri Abdullah. Yesterday, he submitted that Mohan had become a Muslim, based on a certificate of conversion to Islam.

“This was conclusive proof that he was Muslim. It does not matter how or where this certificate was found,” he said.

“It does not matter whether the applicants had knowledge of the conversion or not. What matters is that this certificate exists.”

Rosnani fixed June 30 and July 1 for reply by the family's lawyers, K Shanmuga and A Rajesh Kumar.

Battling it out

Mohan's religious status had been disputed since he died on May 25 due to a heart attack. His remains are being kept at the Sungai Buloh hospital mortuary until the High Court makes its decision.

Mais has claimed that Mohan had converted to Islam in 1992. It filed an application at the Syariah High Court on the day he died, to verify his religious status.

The family then filed an application for a judicial review on May 29, naming the Health Ministry director-general, the hospital director, the government, and Mais as respondents.

High Court judge Rosnani Saub allowed the family's leave application on June 1, leading to the on-going hearing.

On June 4, the Shah Alam Syariah High Court had ruled that Mohan was a Muslim. However, due to Rosnani’s decision, the hospital has not allowed Mais to claim the remains.