Malaysia is a forward-looking, democratic country that abides by the rule of law. It happens also to be a Muslim country.
According to the New Straits Times, at the High Court Registry in Shah Alam, the state capital of Selangor, on 14th May 2007 a Hindu man, Mr V. Suresh, applied for a writ of habeas corpus seeking the release of his wife Siti Fatimah Abdul Karim (who I shall refer to, wrongly, as Mrs Suresh) from detention at the Baitul Aman Faith Rehabilitation Centre, where she had been sent by the Malacca Syariah High Court on 8th January 2007.
Mr Suresh had married his wife according to Hindu rites on 10th March 2004 at a Hindu temple in Malacca. They lived together in Malacca and together had a daughter Diviya Dharshini, born on 19th December 2005. The daughter was raised according to the Hindu religion. By all accounts (and unsurprisingly) Mrs Suresh had professed the Hindu faith and had changed her name. Following the marriage, she had attempted to formally change her name and religious status from Islam to Hindu and was advised by the Melaka Islamic Religious Department to make a formal application in this respect to the Malacca Syariah High Court. The application was filed in late 2006 and the first hearing took place on 8th January 2007. Upon attending the hearing,
You might think that my righteous indignation arises from the knowledge that this poor woman could be incarcerated simply for choosing to convert and practise the "wrong" religion. Whilst it is another example of how religious courts established to protect and advance the interests of their own faith cannot be trusted to apply justice without fear or favour, affection or ill will, in fact my ire is raised because in Malaysia, unlike the United Kingdom, its citizens still have an unrestricted right to apply for a writ of habeas corpus.