KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — The former wife of a businessman has filed a judicial review application to challenge the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court’s jurisdiction which sentenced her to seven days in jail for contempt of court.

On September 4, 2019, Syariah High Court here sentenced Emilia Hanafi, 43, for unilaterally rescheduling the visitation dates for her children to be with their father, Datuk Wira SM Faisal SM Nasiumuddin Kamal.

However, Emilia was released on RM5,000 bail pending her appeal.

Emilia, as the applicant, filed the judicial review application through Messrs Nizam Bashir & Associates at High Court on June 8, naming her ex-husband, SM Faisal, 43, ex-mother-in-law Puan Sri Zaleha Ismail, 70 and five others as respondents.

Other respondents are the Registrar of the Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court, the Chief Registrar of the Federal Territories Syariah Court of Appeal, the Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court, the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court of Appeal and the Government of Malaysia.

Based on the application, Emilia said she did not live or reside in the Federal Territory during the hadhanah (custody) proceedings filed at the Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court on July 23, 2018. She was staying in Kajang, Selangor. The mother of three said Section 4 of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) 1984 applies to all Muslims living in the Federal Territories and all Muslims residing in the Federal Territories but staying outside the Federal Territories.

"Therefore, Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court has no jurisdiction in this matter based on the Federal Constitution and Section 4 of the Act. "As a court with limited local jurisdiction, the Federal Territory Syariah Court has no jurisdiction in such committal proceedings,” she said.

High Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid set July 20 to hear the judicial review application. — Bernama