Mohamed Dzaiddin FCJ:

By consent of the parties, this appeal was heard together with the earlier appeal in Soon Singh v. Pertubuhan Kebajikan Islam Malaysia (PERKIM) Kedah & Anor [1999] 2 CLJ 5 as it involved similar point of law on whether the High Court has jurisdiction to hear the plaintiff's application for a declaration that he was no longer a Muslim. The learned judge dismissed the application and adopted the grounds of judgment in Soon Singh. Hence, this appeal.

At the outset, Dato' Zaitun Zawiyah raised a preliminary objection that the respondent was not a proper party to the appeal. She submitted that under the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territory) Act 1984 (Act 303) the proper party should be Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan. We agree with her submission. Under Act 303, "Majlis" refers to Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan under s. 5 of the Administration of Muslim Law Enactment 1952 of Selangor, as modified by the Federal Territory (Modification of Administration of Muslim Law Enactment) (Order) 1974 made pursuant to s. 6(4) of the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1973 and in force in the Federal Territory by virtue of s. 6(1) of that Act. Part 1