Permohonan Shamala rujuk isu perlembagaan diketepi

PUTRAJAYA 12 Nov. - Seorang wanita Hindu gagal meneruskan permohonan untuk merujuk isu perlembagaan bagi mencabar undang-undang syariah dan sivil dalam kes perebutan hak penjagaan dua anaknya hasil perkahwinan dengan bekas suami yang kini beragama Islam.

Ia berikutan keputusan penting Mahkamah Persekutuan hari ini membenarkan bantahan awal Dr. Muhammad Ridzwan Mogarajah, 42, yang mempertikaikan kewajaran tindakan S. Shamala, 38, sedangkan ketiga-tiganya dipercayai berada di Australia.

Mualaf itu turut membantah permohonan tersebut kerana bekas isterinya yang diberikan hak penjagaan oleh Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur, menghadapi tindakan menghina mahkamah kerana enggan membenarkannya melawat kedua-dua anaknya sejak enam tahun lalu.

Berikutan keputusan itu, Shamala terlepas peluang untuk mendapat penjelasan berhubung percanggahan undang-undang Islam dan sivil melibatkan pertukaran agama dan hak penjagaan anak, setelah permohonan rujukannya itu ditolak dengan kos.

Isu perlembagaan itu antara lain berkaitan kesahihan pertukaran agama kanak-kanak daripada satu perkahwinan sivil kepada agama Islam oleh bapa atau ibu tanpa persetujuan dan pengetahuan pihak yang tidak menukar agama.

Ia merupakan isu kepentingan awam melibatkan hak penjagaan anak bagi ibu bapa yang bercerai dalam keadaan seorang daripada mereka bertukar agama.

Keputusan itu dicapai oleh panel lima hakim diketuai Ketua Hakim Negara, Tun Zaki Tun Azmi yang bersidang bersama Presiden Mahkamah Rayuan, Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd. Sheriff; Hakim Besar Malaya, Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria; Hakim Besar Sabah dan Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum; dan Hakim Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin.

Bagaimanapun, panel bersidang mencapai pendapat majoriti 4-1 setelah tidak bersetuju dengan Hakim Malanjum yang lebih cenderung memerintahkan Shamala dan dua anaknya hadir ke mahkamah bagi mendengar prosiding itu.

Hakim Malanjum menyatakan, jika ketiga-tiganya gagal hadir dalam tempoh tiga bulan, permohonan tersebut akan ditolak dengan kos.

Ketua Hakim Negara sebaliknya mengembalikan rayuan kedua-dua pihak yang tidak berpuas hati dengan keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi berhubung pertikaian mengenai hak penjagaan anak, ke Mahkamah Rayuan.

Hakim Zaki berpendapat, Shamala tidak harus diberi masa kerana dia ternyata mengelak untuk menghadapi tindakan menghina mahkamah yang dikeluarkan oleh Mahkamah Tinggi pada 6 Mei 2004 akibat melanggar perintah sementara agar Muhammad Ridzwan diberi hak melawat anak-anaknya.

Pada hemat beliau, Shamala mendapat hak penjagaan secara tidak sah selama enam tahun setelah melarikan anak-anaknya sejak 2004 manakala kedua-dua kanak-kanak itu, J. Saktiwaran dan adiknya, Theiviswaran jika ditanya sekalipun, kemungkinan memilih tinggal bersama ibu mereka.

Hakim Zaki memberitahu, Shamala turut gagal mematuhi perintah mahkamah agar menyerahkan dokumen perjalanan anak-anaknya, sekali gus menunjukkan dia memperoleh kelebihan daripada suaminya secara tidak adil.

''Tindakan memberi masa untuk mendengar permohonan itu akan memberi manfaat kepada Shamala tanpa perlu baginya menunaikan tanggungjawab sedangkan dia boleh dikenakan tindakan menghina mahkamah.

''Dengan memberinya peluang sedemikian akan menggalakkan lebih ramai pihak melakukan kesilapan yang membawa kepada tindakan menghina mahkamah, dengan harapan mereka dapat membetulkan kesalahan yang dilakukan,'' ujar Hakim Zaki.

Sementara itu, Hakim Arifin turut sependapat dengan Ketua Hakim Negara atas alasan panel itu tidak akan berlaku adil kepada Muhammad Ridzwan jika permohonan Shamala dibenarkan sedangkan wanita itu jelas enggan mematuhi perintah mahkamah.

Beliau menyatakan, banyak masa berlalu sedangkan Shamala berada di luar bidang kuasa mahkamah menyebabkan tindakan menghina mahkamah tidak dapat dilaksanakan ke atasnya.

''Mahkamah tidak harus dipergunakan oleh Shamala untuk kepentingannya semata-mata. Dengan membenarkannya meneruskan permohonan itu, akan menjadikan hak suaminya di sisi undang-undang hanya bayangan semata-mata, tidak kira siapa yang akan menang,'' ujar beliau.

Sementara Hakim Malanjum dalam penghakimannya menyatakan, isu utama kes itu adalah berkaitan hak penjagaan anak dan ia perlu dipertimbang dengan mengambil kira kebajikan kanak-kanak tersebut.

Menurut beliau, tindakan melarikan dua beradik itu ke luar negara adalah serius dan bukan sahaja menunjukkan Shamala gagal mematuhi perintah mahkamah, malah menidakkan hak bekas suami terhadap anak mereka.

Shamala diwakili oleh peguam Datuk Dr. Cyrus V. Dass manakala Muhammad Ridzwan diwakili peguam Muralee Menon.

Shamala berkahwin dengan Jeyaganesh C. Mogarajah mengikut undang-undang perkahwinan sivil pada 1998 tetapi empat tahun kemudian, Jeyaganesh memeluk agama Islam dengan nama Muhammad Ridzwan Mogarajah.

Muhammad Ridzwan turut menukar agama kedua-dua anak lelaki mereka yang ketika itu berumur tiga dan dua tahun kepada agama Islam tanpa pengetahuan dan persetujuan Shamala.

Shamala yang tidak berpuas hati dengan tindakan itu kemudian ke Mahkamah Tinggi dan memperoleh hak penjagaan sementara menyebabkan bekas suaminya memfailkan pula permohonan hak penjagaan (Hadanah) di Mahkamah Syariah.

Muhammad Ridzwan berjaya dalam permohonan itu menyebabkan Shamala dikenakan waran tangkap di bawah undang-undang Islam kerana gagal hadir dan mengemukakan kedua-dua kanak-kanak tersebut.

Pada Julai 2004, Shamala memperoleh hak penjagaan penuh terhadap dua anak lelakinya itu dan diperintah untuk tidak mengajar agama kepercayaannya kepada kedua-dua anaknya itu atau memberi mereka makan babi.

http://utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=1113&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Mahkamah&pg=ma_02.htm

MCA man says God commands Christians to fight Islamic state

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8: Former Subang Jaya state assemblyman, MCA's Lee Hwa Beng (pic), has appealed to Christian sentiments when he suggested on Twitter yesterday that a state based on Islam would ban all other religions. "As Christians, we should fear Islamic theocracy nation [sic] more than anything. Why is DAP helping PAS to achieve it?” questioned Lee in a response to DAP supporters on the micro-blogging site. Saying religions other than Islam would not be tolerated under what he coined "Islamic Theocracy State" [sic] and that Islamic laws would be imposed on non-Muslims, Lee even went on to claim that it was "God's command" to fight an "Islamic Theocracy State". "One of God's command is to fight against Islamic Theocracy State," he said. He added that UMNO, unlike PAS, did not want to establish an "Islamic Theocracy State". Lee however was quick to add a 'disclaimer' stating that his remarks were his personal opinion. “I never say I am against Islam but cannot accept PAS objective of Islamic Theocracy State. In fact I accept Islam as the official religion. "Sorry I bring this theocracy topic up. Getting out of hand. I am quitting." The latest remarks by Lee followed similar comments by MCA president Chua Soi Lek in August, in which he suggested Muslim-majority nations were naturally corrupt in an attempt to urge Malaysians to shun PAS. Chua also claimed that it was UMNO's competing with PAS over Islam which had caused the country to be trapped as a “middle income” nation for more than 10 years. The comments drew strong reactions from both sides of the political divide, and had left the one-time Health minister blaming online portals Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider for 'misquoting' him. http://en.harakah.net.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1734:mca-man-says-god-commands-christians-to-fight-islamic-state&catid=36:headline&Itemid=70

MCA's comeback kid gets a dressing-down over remarks on Islam

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7: MCA president Chua Soi Lek (pic), whose statement warning UMNO not to be Islamic like PAS, and claiming that the most corrupt countries were Muslim-majority ones and therefore PAS should not be given a chance to come to power, has earned him a place among Islamophobic leaders with condemnations pouring in from both sides of the divide. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim attributed what he called Chua's 'ignorance' to his interaction with UMNO, which did not appear to have taught him about the religion. “His (Chua's) interaction with UMNO does not seem to have made him better understand or appreciative of Muslim concerns,” said Anwar, and said this contrasted with the ties between PAS and DAP, which among others have encouraged both sides to appreciate each other's stand, with DAP leaders quoting verses from the Qur'an in their speeches. Expressing his disappointment over what he described as UMNO's increasing tendency to be Islamic to compete with PAS, Chua said this had among others caused the country to be trapped as a “middle income” nation for more than 10 years. Selangor opposition leader and former Menteri Besar Mohamad Khir Toyo hinted that Chua's remarks bordered on religious hatred. “Dr Chua needs to stop doing this. He is shifting racial politics into religious politics. This is very dangerous. People might start blaming Islam because of what he said," he was quoted as saying by online portal Malaysian Insider. "They might blame Islam and say that corruption in the country is rampant because of the religion. We do not want to start blaming each other, pointing fingers… this leads into religious arguments. This is dangerous,” he warned. Meanwhile, speaking at a conference on integrity, Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng gave him a brief lesson on Islamic civilisation, and advised the MCA comeback kid to read more on Muslim history which he said was not only about empires, "but also about their achievements in education, algebra, astronomy and the arts". Lim said the reason Muslim countries were corrupt was not because their majority population were Muslims, but as a result of being under imperialist leaders. “Muslim countries are suffering from the same problems suffered by India and China previously. Muslim nations could recapture their past glories like India and China, if they were allowed to be similarly unshackled like the two countries,” he was quoted as saying at the Caliph Umar Abdul Aziz International Integrity Conference in Penang. Nasrudin Hasan Tantawi, the PAS Youth head, echoed Anwar's observation, saying Chua's perception about Islam and Muslims had been coloured by its long alliance with UMNO and its corrupt ways. “Chua Soi Lek has failed to differentiate the Islam advocated by PAS, from that of UMNO which only knows how to claim to be Islamic yet Islamic principles were never applied in their administration,” said Nasrudin, adding that as an example, the two-decades of Islamic rule in Kelantan under PAS ensured that the state and its leadership were free from corruption. 'No moral right' Former Perak Menteri Besar and Bukit Gantang member of parliament Nizar Jamaluddin said Chua had no moral right to criticise Islamic principles. “[Chua] has no moral right to criticise the Islamic principles upon which PAS has existed over 50 years and which have guarded the party against all vices,” he said in a Twitter posting. Chua was the Minister of Health and MCA vice president before he was forced to quit all his government and party posts after video recordings of him indulging in sex with a "female companion" in a hotel room appeared in public. He is widely regarded as MCA's comeback kid following the party's poor performance in the 2008 general election, forcing the resignation of party president Ong Ka Ting. Chua contested against Ong Tee Keat and won in March 2010 amid intense infightings in the Chinese-based party. http://en.harakah.net.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1140:mcas-comeback-kid-gets-a-dressing-down-over-remarks-on-islam&catid=34:primary&Itemid=56

Islam, Kristian setuju reda ketegangan

PARIS 5 Nov. - Pemimpin-pemimpin Islam dan Kristian semalam bersetuju menubuhkan satu pasukan untuk cuba meredakan ketegangan antara kedua-dua agama terbesar ini, ketika penganut Islam dan Kristian terjebak dalam konflik senjata di Nigeria, Iraq, Mesir dan Filipina.

Pada mesyuarat di Geneva minggu ini, mereka bersetuju mengambil langkah penting bagi memelihara keamanan antara kedua-dua agama ini, daripada membiarkannya terjerumus dalam konflik yang disebabkan oleh persaingan politik, penindasan atau ketidakadilan.

Antara pertubuhan yang menyokong rancangan itu ialah World Council of Churches (WCC) yang dianggotai 349 gereja berlainan di seluruh dunia dan World Islamic Call Society (WICS), rangkaian yang dianggotai kira-kira 600 badan Islam.

Mereka akan menghantar pakar-pakar Islam dan Kristian untuk campur tangan dalam konflik agama bagi meredakan ketegangan dan menyelesaikan salah faham dan pertikaian tentang kepercayaan.

"Kami menubuhkan satu kerjasama kumpulan ini bagi membolehkan kami bersiap sedia berhadapan dengan sebarang krisis yang semakin meningkat berkaitan Islam dan Kristian.

"Kami perlu mencari penyelesaian untuk meredakan krisis agama dan memperbaiki hubungan antara kedua-dua agama ini melalui resolusi konflik dan keadilan," kata pemimpin-pemimpin Kristian dan Islam dalam satu kenyataan selepas mengadakan mesyuarat selama empat hari.

Institut Diraja Aal al-Bayt Jordan dan cendekiawan kumpulan Common Word Islam yang mempromosi dialog antara agama turut menyokong penubuhan pasukan ini, yang telah dibincangkan dengan beberapa gereja sejak dua tahun lalu.

Aref yang menyertai mesyuarat itu berkata, pakar-pakar Islam dan Kristian akan dipilih untuk membentuk pasukan kecil ini dan akan dihantar ke wilayah tercetusnya konflik. - Reuters

http://utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=1106&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Luar_Negara&pg=lu_01.htm