'Wakaf' land suit: Judges rule fatwa merely persuasive, doesn't bind Syariah Court
The Penang Syariah Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal by the Penang Islamic Council (Maip) to strike out a claim made by three descendants of businessperson Sheik Eusoff on a piece of wakaf (endowment) land measuring 15 acres and worth RM300 million now on the island, that had been donated more than 100 years ago by their ancestor.
With this, the claim made by the plaintiffs Syed Idross Syed Hassan Al Mashoor, Sheik Mohd Jelani Sheik Emam and Abdul Shukor PA Mohd Sultan who are trustees of the estate will go to trial...
The Penang Syariah Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal by the Penang Islamic Council (Maip) to strike out a claim made by three descendants of businessperson Sheik Eusoff on a piece of wakaf (endowment) land measuring 15 acres and worth RM300 million now on the island, that had been donated more than 100 years ago by their ancestor.
With this, the claim made by the plaintiffs Syed Idross Syed Hassan Al Mashoor, Sheik Mohd Jelani Sheik Emam and Abdul Shukor PA Mohd Sultan who are trustees of the estate will go to trial.
A three-member bench led by Justice Mohd Mahyuddin Ibrahim unanimously ruled that a fatwa (religious edict) issued regarding the land is merely persuasive and does not bind the court.
The fatwa had decreed that Maip owns the land.
The two other judges on the bench were Justice Mohd Naim Mokhtar and Justice Sharani Ismail.
The decision was related by lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader, who appeared together with Rafie Mohd Shafee for the three plaintiffs, to Malaysiakini.
With this decision, the claim made by the three will go on trial at the Syariah High Court.
The court has fixed Jan 9, next year for case management.
On June 27, this year, the Syariah High Court had similarly dismissed a preliminary objection by Maip towards the trio’s suit.
The Syariah High Court judge Mohd Yunos Mohd Zin in his decision also ruled that the fatwa issued regarding the status of the land does not bind the court as he looked at other states' jurisdiction.
Sheik Eusoff Sheik Latiff gave two portions of land in 1892 before he passed away two years later. On one of the portions stands the Sheik Eusoff mosque in Georgetown, while on the other lies the disputed land in Ayer Itam on the island.
The three grandchildren wanted the land to be returned to the beneficiaries as they claimed the deed of wakaf giving the land to Maip is illegal as the period of 21 years as stipulated in Sheik Eusoff's will had expired.
They also claimed that the edict on the land stating that it is wakaf land is wrong because the endowment should not have a limited time period as it is donated for public use.
Maip was represented by Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar and Mohd Najib Rohim.
They had already filed an application at the civil court in 1995 to recognise them as trustees to the land which they had obtained.
However, the Federal Court ruled that the tussle on the land had to be determined by the Syariah Court as it concerns wakaf land dispute, a matter under Islamic jurisprudence.
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