It will sit again on Nov 29 for case management.

Senior Federal Counsel Mazlifah Ayob said lawyers for Lee Chang Yong, the father, sought an adjournment as there was a similar case pending hearing.

This other case involves the conversion of M Indira Gandhi’s children. This case will have a bearing on the Nov 29 case management for Lee’s application.

The Federal Court will hear Indira’s appeal on Nov 14 and 15. She is challenging a Court of Appeal’s decision last year that conversion cases fall exclusively under shariah law.

Lee, on June 14, filed a judicial review to challenge the registration by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) of his children as Muslim.

He is seeking to quash the conversion of his eight-year-old daughter and three-year-old son to Islam by his wife, Teng Wai Yee, now known as Aleena Abdullah.

He is also seeking to stop the Muallaf (converts) Registry and its relevant agents from registering the siblings as Muslim and an order to revoke any form of registration of the siblings.

Further, Lee is seeking a declaration that the siblings’ certificates of conversions are null and void and another declaration that the children were unlawfully converted.

In his affidavit, he alleged his wife unilaterally converted their two children to Islam with the intention to obtain custody.

He claimed Teng planned the conversion of their eight-year-old daughter and three-year-old son when she embraced Islam.

The couple had filed a joint divorce petition on Dec 17 last year. However, they could not agree on custody of the children and division of matrimonial assets.

Lee filed a second divorce petition on Dec 29 after his wife embraced Islam.

The High Court has set Oct 3 to hear the divorce petition and custody of the children.

The court granted a consent order on June 6 pending the divorce.

The consent order covers the siblings’ upbringing, which remains at status quo. The order further states the parents are not allowed to influence the children on religion.