Lawyer Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman, appearing for the 84-year-old Aminah Abdullah, said the documents were filed today and served on the counsel representing Jamaluddin’s wife, Dr Kalsom Ismail.

However, she declined to reveal the defence put forward on behalf of her client.

She said the Shariah High Court registrar here had fixed Jan 7 for further case management.

Kalsom filed the suit last month. A subsequent mediation over assets worth some RM2.1 billion left by the former Malaysian ambassador to the US also failed.

Jamaluddin’s widow and their four children – Nur Anis, Ikhwan Hafiz, Nurul Aliyaa and Noor Adilla – had raised a preliminary objection that Aminah could not apply to get an inheritance certificate.

A copy was given to Aminah only after she filed an application early this year.

The five respondents also gave notice to Aminah that they would raise jurisdictional issues as the Shariah Court had no authority to hear company-related matters.

In March, Aminah filed her suit to get the respondents to transfer properties reportedly belonging to the estate of Jamaluddin, better known as JJ, after he was killed in a helicopter crash three years ago.

The moveable and immoveable properties, worth about RM2.1 billion, could then be distributed in accordance with Islamic law.

Under shariah laws, the mother gets one-sixth of the estate’s assets, the wife gets one-eighth and the remainder is shared among the children.

Aminah is also questioning how her son could have allegedly given some of the wealth, which includes 19 companies, to his children.

Other properties include parcels of land purchased in Malaysia and abroad.

Ainiah said several attempts were made to resolve the inheritance dispute but none succeeded.

Jamaluddin was a confidant of former prime minister Najib Razak, and had served as chairman of the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme.

He was an Umno Supreme Council member, and the Rompin MP from 1990 until his death on April 4, 2015.