Low Hop Bing JCA (delivering judgment of the court)

APPEAL

This appeal is lodged by the appellants (‘the plaintiffs’) against the decision of the Shah Alam High Court in striking out the plaintiffs’ originating summons (‘the OS’).

For brevity and convenience, a reference hereinafter to an order and a rule, and to an article, is a reference respectively to that order and rule in the Rules of the High Court 1980, and the article in the Federal Constitution.

PRAYERS FOR DECLARATION

Pursuant to O 18 r 19, O 15 r 16 and O 92 r 4, the OS seeks the following declarations:

(a)An interpretation that the words ‘his religion’ in art 11(1) means the religion which a person chooses to profess and practise as his religion (para 1 of the OS) and the phrase ‘person(s) professing the religion of Islam’ in various provisions of the Federal Constitution are to be interpreted to mean ‘a person who acknowledges himself to be a believer of the religion of Islam’ (para 2);

(b)The definition of a person as a ‘Muslim’ in s 2 of the Administration of Islamic Law (Selangor) Enactment 1989 is null and void (para 3);

(c)Any requirement that the plaintiffs should obtain permission from the Syariah Court before Islamic