Muslim lawyers: Govt must explain flip-flop in Roneey’s case

Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PPMM) president says government has the right to decide on withdrawal of appeal by NRD but this has to be done fairly.

PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya must explain the flip-flop in appealing the High Court’s decision on the Roneey Rebit religious conversion case, says Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PPMM) president Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar.

In commenting on claims that Prime Minister Najib Razak and Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem had meddled in the National Registration Department’s (NRD) appeal in the case, Zainul said the government had the right to decide to withdraw the appeal.

However, he said this had to be done fairly and justice must not only be done but seen to be done.

“If it is done for ‘election’ benefit, the perception is that justice is not done,” he told FMT.

He opined that the government should not have appealed in the first place and the withdrawal of appeal now signifies a change in policy.

This, he said, was something the government needed to clear the air on.

Zainul said because the issue arose during election campaigning, some quarters felt it was a case of meddling in the court process.

“Every litigant has his right to continue or discontinue a legal process, but it seems that it was done for reasons which are very apparent, namely the election campaign,” he said, noting it was very much contrary to previous decisions made by the government on similar cases.

A Sarawakian lawyer, who declined to be named, also said Najib and Adenan had not meddled in the matter.

“The NRD comes under the executive and the executive has the right to advise the department, so it cannot be considered as meddling,

“The executive would only be meddling if the case was in the midst of hearing,” said the lawyer.

Yesterday, NRD Director-General Sulaiman Keling said the department, after careful study, would apply to withdraw its appeal against the court decision allowing Roneey to renounce Islam and return to Christianity.

In response, Malay rights groups Perkasa and Isma, as well as Amanah lawmaker Mujahid Rawa, had decried the executive’s meddling in the issue and said due legal process should be allowed to continue.