Meaning of the Subashini Judgment

The following clear interpretation of the outcome of the Subashini is provided by Malaysiakini-the news portal that exposes everything.

Of the three Muslim Malay judges, one of them dissented.

The landmark judgment in a nutshell
Soon Li Tsin | Dec 27, 07 8:36pm

It took more than an hour for the judgment to be read in court. The majority decision was delivered by Nik Hashim Nik Ab Rahman - who headed the Federal Court three-member bench - while Abdul Aziz Mohamad delivered the minority decision.

Majority decision - Nik Hashim Nik Ab Rahman and Azmel Ma'amor

• Subashini’s divorce petition under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act is deem null and void because it was filed before the requisite three months period.

• Saravanan and Subashini’s civil marriage can only be dissolved using civil law. The husband can still dissolve it under syariah law but it will have no effect in the civil courts.

• Saravanan can seek relief in the syariah courts but it cannot compel Subashini to do the same because she is a non-Muslim.

• Saravanan did not abuse the process by converting his child because the consent from one parent is sufficient according to Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution .

Dissenting ruling - Abdul Aziz Mohamad

• The evidence of Saravanan’s conversion must be tried in order to determine whether the conversion date was based on his certificate or on facts made available to Subashini.

• Saravanan had abused the process in seeking the custody of the children in the Syariah Court because the religious court has no jurisdiction over a non-Muslim marriage.

• Saravanan’s conversion of the children is not unilateral and the wife has a right to object to the conversion as well as seek an injunction to stop the procedure.

• The High Court has exclusive jurisdiction in matters of dissolution of marriage, maintenance, custody and other ancillary reliefs because the marriage was solemnised under civil law.

Why I won't fly the Flag

No, Sir, I will not fly the flag this time.
Click the following pics and stories to enlarge them!
Here are a few of the many reasons...
16th September, 1963: Formation of Malaysia, with 20-point agreement. Yeah, that's right-44 years ago and not 50 years ago we became independent from Great Britain. Borneons aren't living up in trees to be able to calculate this fact. Good try for trying to pull a fast one on us, mates but it doesn't work! Can a 44-year old man celebrate a 50-year old birthday and declare "I'm now 50 years old!" ??? Everyone would laugh to death.

Democratically-elected politician and first Sarawak Chief Minister, a non-Muslim Iban, Stephen Kalong Ningkan, is removed as Chief Minister by an act of parliament in Kuala Lumpur.

One big full ayam brand bowl of kong lau mien (dry mee with meat) with lots of meat costs only 10 sen (US 1 cent) in Sarawak.

13 th May, 1969: Racial Riots in Kuala Lumpur. Elections are suspended throughout Malaysia, including in the peaceful East Malaysian states.

Beloved Sabahan Chief Minister Donald Stephens, an Eurasian and one of co-signatories to the agreement to form Malaysia, is killed in a mysterious plane crash in Sabah, together with several prominent well-loved elected officials.

It's bloody difficult to go on to a government university due to the New Economic Policy which has a quota system in place...

5% each oil rights compensation payment are thereby given back to Sarawak and Sabah on an annual basis in lieu of oil profits from both oil-rich states, contrary to the 20-point agreement made on state rights over control of natural resources.

April 1985: Joseph Pairin Kitingan, a Christian wins the Sabah state elections, toppling the traditionally Muslim-based power structure.

March 1986: Sabahan Muslim riots with state mosques used as gathering places to incite the Muslims. Look closely at this illegal procession and the participants...and they say a picture says a thousand words...
1988: The independence of the judiciary is removed after Prime Minister Mahathir gets a tribunal to sack Malaysia's Supreme Court's Lord president Tun Salleh Abas and others.

P.M. Mahathir says Malaysia is an Islamic state.

Sarawak Shell becomes a downgraded minor contractor to Federal authorities' Petronas, instead of being a major community player in Sarawak.

12th July, 2004: Tragic deaths of Sarawakian heroes, including rising political star, beloved Dr. Judson Tagal in a mysterious helicopter crash.

UMNO Youth Leader and Education Minister, Hishammudin brandishes and kisses his long, long keris in UMNO General Assembly, ready to use it in modern day Malaysia.

2007: Fellow blogger Nathaniel is discourteously hurled to a police station and detained.

2007: Fellow blogger, Raja Petra aka Prince Peter is interrogated for hours by the cops.

2007: His wife is next likewise interrogated by the cops.


Our popular Sarawak Tribune (Seen here being ironically deposited by Sarawak's Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, as one of the time capsule objects into the Petroleum Museum's foundation, to be opened in future) gets suspended indefinitely for publishing small versions of Danish cartoons of Islam's prophet, Muhammad. It's still not back. The rumor is that it's a life-time ban.

The price of petrol shoots up again in this oil-rich nation, and ironically, oil-rich state, raised by the Federal authorities. Despite assurances from the authorities, subsequently everything else naturally cost more as expected. My fellow monkeys up in the tree even know that whenever petrol prices go up every monkey has to charge more to cover the raised prices.

At the end of the year, Petronas declares a pre-tax profit of expected gigantic proportions. The petrol prices never comes down.

The Federal Court denies Lina Joy her basic human right to freedom of religion in Malaysia when she chose to leave Islam and be an apostate. She is condemned with the court's decision to a Syariah Court where every Tom, Dick and Harry knows she will be placed in a communist-style Re-education Camp to force her to change her mind.

Deputy Prime Minister's declares unexpectedly that Malaysia is an Islamic state and to rub salt into the wound, declares as well that it is in fact, driven by Islamic fundamentals.

Chief Muslim Justice makes a sly hint of changing common laws to Islamic Syariah laws; later backed by Minister in the P.M's Religious Department (see accompanying insightful article by K-tomac)
Go to "chief justice adopting syariah laws"

Prime Minister makes an ambiguous statement that Malaysia is an Islamic state (or nation) in Bahasa Malaysia in parliament. Why must he be so ambiguous???


So the whole stinky stuff that's coming out from the often times fuzzy and sometimes arrogant powers-that-be will gradually but surely lead this once idealistic great nation to this unthinkable third world backward state as in the pic below:

So guess whose ugly face will ever be on that wall???

Here's something to think about...
Since too many Islamic countries do not practise sufficient amounts of practical democracy they are doomed. Just to change their political systems they will most likely have to go through bloody and decades long struggles. There will be regime change in Saudi Arabia someday. It will most likely be bloody and destructive. .. We have seen this in Iran, Afghanistan and now Iraq...Now after 27 years of rule (under Islamic Syiah priests' rule) the Iranians are still unhappy. Their idea of ruling a country is that their priests are supreme... (Syed Akbar Ali. Malaysia and the Club of Doom. Kuala Lumpur: 2006. p. 184.).

Ah yes, one half bowl of ayam brand kong lau mien with a few miserable pieces of meat now costs RM3.50 to RM4.50 (in air-conditioned coffeehouses) in Sarawak... and it's still difficult to get into a government university with the NEP in a differnt name... though there are profit-making private colleges and universities which charge a lot to enroll in...

Fair-minded Justice Richard Malanjum's Wisdom

The following extract is taken from The Star.
Thursday May 31, 2007

Judge: It’s illegal and unreasonable

PUTRAJAYA: Illegal and unreasonable. This was how Justice Richard Malanjum described the insistence of the National Registration Department (NRD) for Lina Joy to obtain a certificate of apostasy from the Federal Territory Syariah Court or any Islamic authority.

The Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak said that under applicable law, the Syariah Court in the Federal Territory has no statutory power to adjudicate on the issue of apostasy.

“The (NRD) insistence is unreasonable for it requires an act that is almost impossible to perform,” he said.

Justice Malanjum alleged that NRD’s unreasonableness would have consequential effects in some states where apostasy is a criminal offence.

“Hence, to expect the appellant (Lina) to apply for a certificate of apostasy – when to do so would likely expose her to a range of offences under the Islamic law – is, in my view, unreasonable.”

Disagreeing with the Court of Appeal’s majority judgment, he said it completely disregarded the fact that Lina had made several applications for a change of name. Therefore, it should be regarded as a continuing act.

He said to confine the matter to Lina’s third application was completely ignoring her dealings with the NRD.

He agreed with submissions by Lina’s counsel that if the NRD had correctly acted on her choice of religion for a replacement identity card (in October 1999) instead of rejecting it on the grounds she had not produced a certificate of apostasy, there would have been no necessity for the last application to correct the particulars as regards to entry of “religion.”

Others reasons stated by Justice Malanjum include:

> NRD’s implementation of its policy has a bearing on Lina’s fundamental constitution right to freedom of religion under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

> NRD director-general was wrong in stating that apostasy was exclusively within the realm of the Syariah Court as apostasy involves complex questions of constitutional importance.