KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 25): Single mother Loh Siew Hong has withdrawn her application for leave to appeal a Court of Appeal (COA) decision allowing the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) to intervene in her divorce proceedings, to focus on the appeal she filed for a judicial review instead.

Loh's counsel J Gunamalar confirmed the matter with The Edge when contacted, adding that the notice of discontinuance was filed at the apex court earlier on Monday.

"Yes, we have withdrawn the leave to appeal at the Federal Court. Both parties have agreed on no costs (in the matter).

"This is because the most important thing is the judicial review appeal, which is coming up on Oct 19. We are going to focus on that," she said when contacted. The hearing of Loh's leave (permission) application was scheduled to take place on Tuesday (Sept 26).

She filed the application in order for her to appeal the COA's decision, issued earlier in February, that allowed the religious body's appeal to intervene in Loh's divorce proceedings, making the council a respondent in the matter and paving the way for them to vary the custody order given to Loh.

With the appellate court's decision, MAIPs' appeal was sent back to the High Court to be heard in full. The matter will come up for hearing on Wednesday (Sept 27) before judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz.

In civil cases, litigants must first obtain leave (permission) before they can proceed with appeals to the apex court.

MAIPs filed its application in Loh's case, which involves all three of her underage children who were converted to Islam by their father, Loh's ex-husband, without her consent.

In its application to vary the custody order, MAIPs is seeking, among others, supervised access to the children for guidance and basic religious education, and to take them to observe Islamic celebrations.

Meanwhile, the judicial review appeal Gunamalar referred to is Loh's appeal against the High Court's decision last May that dismissed her bid to challenge the unilateral conversion of her three children to Islam.

High Court judge Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh ruled that the three children had not stopped professing the religion of Islam, even under Loh's care. He also said there was no evidence before him to indicate that the children had reverted to Hinduism.

Thus, for the children's welfare, Wan Ahmad ruled that the status quo ought to be maintained.
 
Loh filed for divorce in December 2019, and the divorce was finalised in September 2021. In March 2021, she secured a final court order, giving her full and sole custody of her three children — twin girls, who are now 14 years old and a boy, who is now 11.

Despite this, she claimed that her children were kept from her, as they had been placed under the care of the Social Welfare Department. She was finally reunited with them when the High Court granted her habeas corpus application in February last year.

Read also:
Hearing for single mum's leave to appeal against decision allowing MAIPs to intervene in divorce proceedings rescheduled to Sept 26 
September hearing for MAIPs' bid to vary single mother's custody order