Only syariah courts and not the attorney-general can decide on the religious status of Muslims, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang told Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.

Abdul Hadi was referring to the nine-day tussle involving the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) and the family of deceased A Rayappan.

Mais had sought to bury Rayappan as a Muslim after his death on Nov 29 but unexpectedly dropped the case on Dec 8.

On Dec 6, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had asked atorney-general Abdul Gani Patail to personally interfere in this case and determine the religious status of the deceased.

"[...] the statement by (Abdullah) asking the AG to decide on the religious status of the deceased was unwise and showed that he was unable to understand the real function of the AG under the Federal Constitution," said Abdul Hadi in the memorandum.

The memorandum was delivered by PAS deputy-president Nasharudin Mat Isa to the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya.

Abdul Hadi also questioned the need for Abdullah's cabinet to instruct the AG to interfere in the matter which was at the time, pending at the syariah courts.

He said PAS views this as 'interference and pressure' being mounted by the executive which resulted in Mais withdrawing their initial application to claim Rayappan's body.

NRD loop hole?

Abdul Hadi also urged the government to clarify why the National Registration Department (NRD) did not specify that Rayappan was a Muslim in the absence of a syariah court order declaring him an apostate.

He noted that in the case of Lina Joy, the NRD refused to remove the word Islam from her identity card without a court order.

"PAS urges the NRD to issue an official statement on the matter to avoid it happening again," he said.

Rayappan had married a Muslim in 1990, but returned to his first wife in 1996 and assumed his former Catholic religion. He subsequently changed his name and renounced Islam by signing a deed poll with the NRD on May 10, 1999.

Lourdes Mary Maria Soosai, Rayappan's first wife and claimant to his body, will file a civil suit against Mais and its enforcement body Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) this Friday for general and aggravated damages caused by trauma felt during the incident.

Four reasons

On Sunday, the New Straits Times reported that Mais secretary Muhammed Khusrin Munawi revealed four reasons not to bury Rayappan as a Muslim:

  • The examination by the Syariah Court of Appeal on Dec 7 was not a final decision as the same court had ordered the Syariah High Court to retry the case. Thus, the final decision on Rayappan's religious status had not been made at the time of the withdrawal

  • Rayappan died in Kuala Lumpur and his death records were taken by the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. A decision by the Syariah Court in Selangor was then not applicable in the Federal Territory

  • While Mais is responsible for upholding and protecting Muslims and Islam, it also ensures fairness to other religions. This, said Mais, was respected by the Syariah Court

  • Although Islamic law prohibits a judge from overturning his own decisions, there are provisions that allow for it when there is a loop-hole in the law

    • Muhammed Khusrin said Mais would also come up with a new mechanism to allow more representation from non-Muslims, according to the report.