This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 15, 2019 - October 21, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Federal lawmaker Maria Chin Abdullah has been ordered by the Syariah High Court here to answer a contempt charge on Dec 2 made against her by Naza Group executive chairman Datuk SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin.

This follows the leave granted by Syariah High Court Judge Mohamad Fouzi Mokhtar to SM Faisal to initiate contempt proceedings against the Petaling Jaya member of Parliament, whom the court found had brought the court to disrepute.

“Her statement was scandalous and contemptuous. This has affected the integrity of the Syariah Court,” Judge Mohamad Fouzi said in his ruling yesterday.

He also ordered Maria to appear before him on Dec 2, to answer the charge against her.

SM Faisal’s lawyer, Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, confirmed the court’s decision on the matter when contacted by theedgemarkets.com.

SM Faisal filed an application to obtain the court’s leave to initiate contempt proceedings against Maria for issuing a statement that he allegedly had criticised the Syariah Court’s decision last month.

The court had ordered his ex-wife Emilia Hanafi to be jailed seven days for not abiding by the visitation rights given to their father for their three children, and rescheduling those visits on her own.

Maria, a former Bersih 2.0 chairperson, had questioned the jail sentence imposed on Emilia, whose punishment had been deferred pending her appeal to the Syariah Court of Appeal, which is the final level of appeal in the syariah court system. Pending her appeal, Emilia was granted bail of RM5,000.

The issue arose after the lawmaker issued a press statement entitled “Emilia Faisal Hanifi’s sentencing proves injustice against Muslim women still exists in the legal system”.

In the Sept 5 statement, Maria alleged that the syariah legal system still discriminated against Muslim women and referred to Emilia’s seven-day jail sentence.

Akberdin, in his show-cause submission on Maria, said her comments had cast aspersions on the syariah judicial system as she is a politician and holds public office as an elected representative.

Married in 2002, SM Faisal, 40, and Emilia, divorced 14 years later in 2016. The couple has three sons aged five to 12.