Conflicts in the jurisdiction of the Civil and Syariah courts have been most visible in custody battles. But it’s the recent position of the Royal Malaysian Police has deepen the already contentious nature of the issue. Last Tuesday, the Inspector-General of the Police suggested that children in these custody battles be placed under the care of the Welfare Department. This followed the refusal of the police to act on a court order by the Civil Court that a Muslim father return his child to his Non-Muslim spouse. The IGP said that the police have chosen to take “a middle path” in these cases. In that case the Syariah Court had given the Muslim custody of the child. Central to the conflict is the question of which legal system takes precedence, and if the Police can refuse to act on a Civil court order. BFM spoke to Nizam Bashir. He is a Bar Council member and practicing lawyer in both the civil and Syariah court systems.

This is a report by Alexandra Lok

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