A 36-year old lady who has a Muslim name today failed to get a declaration from the Court of Appeal that she is a Buddhist.

A three-member panel led by Justice Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid unanimously dismissed the appeal by Rosliza Ibrahim, who wanted the declaration as she was born as the illegitimate child of a Chinese mother and a Chinese Muslim father.

"We have come to a unanimous decision. There is no appealable error and we affirm the decision by the High Court," Justice Umi said.

The other judges were Justice Vernon Ong and Justice Suraya Othman.

In her originating summons, Rosliza claimed she was born in 1981 and was raised by her mother as a Buddhist.

According to her lawyer Aston Paiva, after being issued with an identity listing her as a Muslim, she filed for a judicial review in 2009 against the National Registration Department but failed.

Following that, she filed an originating summons in 2015, naming the Selangor Islamic Department, the Selangor Islamic Council and the state government.

In the summons, she obtained affidavits from 10 states - Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak and Terengganu - to verify that her mother never converted to Islam or had entered a Muslim marriage.

However, Rosliza's application was dismissed by the High Court in Shah Alam last year, before Judicial Commissioner Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah.

On Oct 11, 2016, that the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial of the case after High Court judge Akhtar Tahir ruled that the case did not have any chance to succeed.

'Case may not succeed' not grounds for dismissal

Appellate court judge Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, who chaired the three-member panel in the October 2016, said the mere fact that the case may not succeed should not be grounds for the High Court to dismiss the case.

Aston told reporters after the case today that he would seek instructions from his client on whether to pursue the matter at the Federal Court for leave to appeal.

He said it was important that Rosliza is allowed to carry on with her life by getting married.

Lawyer Philip Koh, who held a watching brief for the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, said this is an important case, especially for the people in Sabah in whose ICs is printed 'Islam' as their religion, even though they have for generations been Christians.

Koh had told the court today that Rosliza's right to religious freedom, freedom of choice of a partner and disposition of property have been similarly been affected.

"A failure by the courts to conclusively determine the dispute affirms that the religion of Islam can be imposed on the Buddhist appellant, thereby violating her guaranteed constitutional right and human rights," he said.

Selangor legal adviser Nik Shuhaimi Nik Sulaiman appeared for Jais and the Selangor government, while Abdul Rahim Simwon appeared for Mais.