Four Malaysians who renounced Islam lost an appeal in the nation's top court where they had sought a declaration that they have freedom to practise the faith of their choice, their lawyer said yesterday. 'The Federal Court this morning dismissed the appeal after taking nine months to deliberate the matter,' said Mr Ang Hean Leng. Mr Daud Mamat, 62, Ms Kamariah Ali, 51, her late husband Mohamad Ya and Mr Mad Yacob Ismail, 62, who served 20 months in jail for 'deviant practices inconsistent with Islamic teachings', renounced Islam in 1998. They were charged with contempt of the Syariah court for refusing to attend repentance classes which were part of the earlier sentence and were jailed for another three years in 2000.
They took their case to the Appeal Court, arguing that as they were no longer Muslims, the Syariah court had no jurisdiction over them. That appeal was dismissed. After serving their sentences, they continued to press the appeal in the Federal Court. They wanted to know whether the constitutional right to profess a faith 'includes the right of a Muslim, who has attained the age of maturity, to renounce Islam', said Mr Ang and added: 'The Federal Court today did not view these issues as being relevant.' |