Senior federal counsel Ainul Wardah Shahidan, who represented three respondents – the registrar of mualaf, Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin and the state government – said Loh should have filed the application within 90 days after the children’s conversion.
She said the children, whose names and photos cannot be published because of a gag order issued by the High Court, were converted on July 7, 2020.
“The application should have been filed within 90 days from July 7,” she said in a virtual proceeding before judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
Lawyer Mohamed Hanif Khatri Abdulla, who represented another respondent – the Religious and Malay Customs Council of Perlis – adopted Ainul’s submission.
However, Loh’s lawyer, A Srimurugan, said Loh only knew about the exact date of conversion after regaining custody of her three children on Feb 21 this year.
On that day, High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah granted Loh’s habeas corpus application to regain custody of the children from preacher Nazirah Nanthakumari Abdullah.
“On March 10, the previous solicitors who handled this case obtained the certificates of conversion from the Religious and Malay Customs Council,” said Srimurugan, who was assisted by Shamsher Singh Thind.
Srimurugan said the conversion was done without the mother’s knowledge and it could not be said that “we were sitting on our hands”.
He said Loh had filed an application for extension of time out of an “abundance of caution”, and the court should give her leave for her complaint to be heard.
Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly appeared for Attorney-General Idrus Harun.
Loh, who filed the application in the High Court on March 25, is also asking for a declaration that a provision in the Perlis state enactment that allows a parent to unilaterally convert minor children is unconstitutional.
She also wants a declaration that her twin daughters and son are of the Hindu faith and were legally incapable of embracing Islam without her consent.
Loh contended that she had obtained a civil court order giving her custody, care and control of her children in 2020.