The mother of three wants the status quo to remain pending her application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court, which has now been rescheduled to be heard on Sept 26.

The hearing of her application was supposed to be heard today but was vacated.

Loh’s lawyer Gunamalar Joorindanjn said Justice Evrol Mariette Peters fixed July 26 for decision on the stay bid after hearing submissions from parties online.

The Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs), which opposed the stay application, was represented by Danial Farhan Zainul Rijal.

Gunamalar submitted that the stay should be granted due to special circumstances.

On Feb 7, the Court of Appeal quashed a ruling delivered by Peters last year and allowed MAIPs to intervene in the proceedings.

The single mother had then filed an application in the Federal Court for leave to appeal the Court of Appeal ruling.

The decision to allow MAIPs to intervene in the proceedings enables it to seek a variation of a custody order obtained over her three children.

Loh’s ex-husband, Muhammad Nagahswaran Muniandy, had also joined the application to vary the order.

The application to vary the custody order will be heard by Justice Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz after MAIPs applied to recuse Peters. No date has been fixed yet for the hearing of this application.

Nagahswaran is said to have taken the children to Perlis, where he unilaterally converted them to Islam on July 6, 2020.

The 15-year-old twin girls and an 11-year-old boy were then placed under the care and control of preacher Nazirah Nanthakumari Abdullah.

On March 31, 2020, the High Court granted Loh full custody of her children. Her divorce from Nagahswaran was finalised on Sept 23, 2021.

Loh also filed a habeas corpus application in the High Court, which was allowed by Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah in February last year.

That decision paved the way for a reunion between the mother and her children.

However, on May 11, another High Court dismissed Loh’s judicial review application challenging the unilateral conversion of her children to Islam.

Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh held that the children were still Muslims. He said their conversion certificates were conclusive proof of the change in their religious faith.