A three-man bench chaired by Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim said Rosliza Ibrahim must be given her day in court to put forward her case.
“The ruling that her case is unsustainable is not a ground to strike out the suit,” Abang Iskandar said.
The bench also ordered the matter to be heard before a new High Court judge in Shah Alam.
Rosliza, 35, was born to a Buddhist mother, who raised her in that faith.
However, the state religious authorities where she currently resides, regard her as Muslim and therefore, subject to Shariah law because she was born to a Muslim father, although out of wedlock.
The National Registration Department declined to remove her present name and substitute it with a name of her choice as it wanted an approval letter from the Shariah Court.
Last year, Rosliza, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, filed a summons in the High Court, seeking a declaration that Selangor Islamic laws do not apply to her and that the religious courts do not have jurisdiction over her.
She provided evidence from Selangor and Federal Territories religious authorities that both she and her mother had never converted into Islam.
The mother also provided a statutory declaration confirming that she had never married Rosliza’s father whose whereabouts is currently unknown.
The High Court struck out Rosliza’s suit after considering the merits of her case.
Her lawyer Aston Paiva told the Court of Appeal today that Rosliza was not a Muslim as there was no prove her Buddhist-Muslim parents were married.
“My client is arguing that the state Islamic law could not be applied on an illegitimate child born to a Buddhist mother,” he said.
Aston said Rosliza had no control over the name that she was carrying as it was given by her parents.
“There are also no records of the parent’s marriage being registered with any Islamic religious authority,” he said.
As such, he said the religious court had no jurisdiction over Rosliza’s matter.
He added state religious laws and enactments were not applicable on Rosliza due to her status as an illegitimate child.
“I urge this court to remit this case to the High Court so that my client could put forward her arguments,” the lawyer said.
Selangor assistant state legal adviser Nik Haizie Azlin Nabidin said any ruling on whether Rosliza was a Muslim or not, can only be decided by the Shariah Court.
“The religious court could also determine whether she was born out of wedlock,” Nik Haizie.
Lawyer Philip Koh, who held a watching brief for the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), urged the court to recognise Rosliza’s right to practice the religion of her choice.