Wong Ah Kiu
Encyclopedia
Wong Ah Kiu legally known as Nyonya Binti Tahir, was a Malaysian woman born to a Muslim
family but raised Buddhist
. The court case which arose after her death over whether or not she should receive an Islamic funeral
or a Buddhist one
brought up various issues regarding freedom of religion in Malaysia.
. Of mixed Chinese
and ethnic Malay descent, she was taken in by her grandmother, a Malay Muslim
married to a Chinese of Hainan
origin who had converted to Islam; however, she was later adopted by a Chinese family and raised as a Buddhist. In 1936, Wong married Chiang Meng, a Chinese man sixteen years her senior; he did not convert to Islam, and Wong herself continued to practise Buddhism. According to her children, she adopted the Chinese way of life and ate pork
. Her children were also raised as Chinese, and their ethnicity was recorded as such on their identity cards
. However, her own identity card recorded her ethnicity as Malay. In 1986, she made an application to have her change of name and religion recorded on her own identity card; in response to this application, she was investigated by the Alor Gajah Islamic Affairs office, who issued a report on 7 May 1986 on the basis of which her application was denied. Her husband died in 1989 at the age of 87; knowing that she would be unable to be buried next to him as a Muslim, she filed two further applications for recognition of her change of religion in 1991 and 1998; these too were rejected. She left behind a written declaration that she was a Buddhist and wanted to be given a Buddhist rather than an Islamic funeral
.
application with the Syariah High Court in Seremban
the next day regarding her burial. The head of the Negeri Sembilan Religious Affairs Department came to her family's house in person to present the order that she be buried in the Muslim fashion. However, the court, having heard testimony from her children that she lived and died as a Buddhist, ruled on the following Monday that Wong was a non-Muslim when she died, and permitted her family to proceed with Buddhist funeral rites
. Wong was buried next to her husband in the Chinese cemetery in her birthplace of Simpang Ampat, Alor Gajah.
The case marked the first time that non-Muslims had testified in a Syariah court in Malaysia; though non-Muslims are not permitted to initiate cases in Syariah courts, there had never been any official bar to their offering testimony. Religious minorities were reportedly relieved by the decision, but one advocacy group stated that the decision showed that the courts were "inconsistent in [their] protection" of non-Muslims. Furthermore, although the Syariah Court ruled in favour of Wong's family, Honey Tan, a spokeswoman for civil society group Article 11, criticised the decision, stating that "the court has not provided just remedies to the grievances raised by the plaintiffs on constitutional
grounds. Her case marked the beginning of a trend in which religious authorities would ask family members of deceased individuals who had alleged converted away from to go to the courts to obtain a ruling on whether the deceased was a Muslim or not. Later commentators attributed the favourable outcome to the family's attitude of cooperation with the court, contrasting the ruling with that given on Maniam Moorthy
, the first Malaysian to scale Mount Everest
. Moorthy, a Hindu
who allegedly converted to Islam
without the knowledge of his family, was buried as a Muslim; his family reportedly ignored a subpoena
issued by their local Syariah Court.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
family but raised Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. The court case which arose after her death over whether or not she should receive an Islamic funeral
Islamic funeral
Funerals in Islam follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia calls for burial of the body, preceded by a simple ritual involving bathing and shrouding the body, followed by salah...
or a Buddhist one
Funeral (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, death marks the transition from this life to the next for the deceased.Among Buddhists death is regarded as an occasion of major religious significance, both for the deceased and for the survivors. For the deceased it marks the moment when the transition begins to a new mode of...
brought up various issues regarding freedom of religion in Malaysia.
Marriage and family
Wong was born in Simpang Ampat, MelakaSimpang Ampat, Melaka
Simpang Ampat or Simpang Empat or Sempang Ampat is a small town in Malacca, Malaysia. The A' Famosa Resort is located here....
. Of mixed Chinese
Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...
and ethnic Malay descent, she was taken in by her grandmother, a Malay Muslim
Islam in Malaysia
Malaysia is a multiracial country with Islam being the largest practiced religion, comprising approximately 61.4% Muslim adherents, or around 17 million people, as of 2010. Islam is declared as the "religion of the federation". Though there has been much debate on whether Malaysia is a secular...
married to a Chinese of Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
origin who had converted to Islam; however, she was later adopted by a Chinese family and raised as a Buddhist. In 1936, Wong married Chiang Meng, a Chinese man sixteen years her senior; he did not convert to Islam, and Wong herself continued to practise Buddhism. According to her children, she adopted the Chinese way of life and ate pork
Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork
Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork are a tradition in the Ancient Near East. Swine were prohibited in ancient Syria and Phoenicia, and the pig and its flesh represented a taboo observed, Strabo noted, at Comana in Pontus A lost poem of Hermesianax, reported centuries later by the...
. Her children were also raised as Chinese, and their ethnicity was recorded as such on their identity cards
MyKad
MyKad is the compulsory identity document for Malaysian citizens aged 12 and above. Introduced by the National Registration Department of Malaysia on 5 September 2001 as one of four MSC Malaysia flagship applications and a replacement for the High Quality Identity Card , Malaysia became the first...
. However, her own identity card recorded her ethnicity as Malay. In 1986, she made an application to have her change of name and religion recorded on her own identity card; in response to this application, she was investigated by the Alor Gajah Islamic Affairs office, who issued a report on 7 May 1986 on the basis of which her application was denied. Her husband died in 1989 at the age of 87; knowing that she would be unable to be buried next to him as a Muslim, she filed two further applications for recognition of her change of religion in 1991 and 1998; these too were rejected. She left behind a written declaration that she was a Buddhist and wanted to be given a Buddhist rather than an Islamic funeral
Islamic funeral
Funerals in Islam follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia calls for burial of the body, preceded by a simple ritual involving bathing and shrouding the body, followed by salah...
.
Death and court case
Wong died on 19 January 2006, a Thursday, at the age of 88 at her home in Taman Indah. When her family went to the local police office to file a notice of death, the officer on duty was reportedly confused by the fact that the identity card of the deceased identified her as a Malay and a Muslim, while her family were Chinese and Buddhist. He later informed his superior, who contacted the Negeri Sembilan Religious Affairs Department. The Religious Affairs Department had the Tampin Syariah Court issue an injunction to put her burial on hold when they found out she was Malay; the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Council and Negeri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Department then filed an ex parteEx parte
Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning "from one party" .An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present. In Australian, Canadian, U.K., Indian and U.S...
application with the Syariah High Court in Seremban
Seremban
Seremban is the capital of the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan, located within the district of Seremban, one of the seven districts of Negeri Sembilan. The town's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council or Majlis Perbandaran Seremban...
the next day regarding her burial. The head of the Negeri Sembilan Religious Affairs Department came to her family's house in person to present the order that she be buried in the Muslim fashion. However, the court, having heard testimony from her children that she lived and died as a Buddhist, ruled on the following Monday that Wong was a non-Muslim when she died, and permitted her family to proceed with Buddhist funeral rites
Funeral (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, death marks the transition from this life to the next for the deceased.Among Buddhists death is regarded as an occasion of major religious significance, both for the deceased and for the survivors. For the deceased it marks the moment when the transition begins to a new mode of...
. Wong was buried next to her husband in the Chinese cemetery in her birthplace of Simpang Ampat, Alor Gajah.
The case marked the first time that non-Muslims had testified in a Syariah court in Malaysia; though non-Muslims are not permitted to initiate cases in Syariah courts, there had never been any official bar to their offering testimony. Religious minorities were reportedly relieved by the decision, but one advocacy group stated that the decision showed that the courts were "inconsistent in [their] protection" of non-Muslims. Furthermore, although the Syariah Court ruled in favour of Wong's family, Honey Tan, a spokeswoman for civil society group Article 11, criticised the decision, stating that "the court has not provided just remedies to the grievances raised by the plaintiffs on constitutional
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the Federation...
grounds. Her case marked the beginning of a trend in which religious authorities would ask family members of deceased individuals who had alleged converted away from to go to the courts to obtain a ruling on whether the deceased was a Muslim or not. Later commentators attributed the favourable outcome to the family's attitude of cooperation with the court, contrasting the ruling with that given on Maniam Moorthy
Maniam Moorthy
Maniam Moorthy, also known as Mohammad Abdullah, was a corporal in the Malaysian Army and a member of the first group of Malaysians to successfully climb Mount Everest...
, the first Malaysian to scale Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. Moorthy, a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
who allegedly converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
without the knowledge of his family, was buried as a Muslim; his family reportedly ignored a subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
issued by their local Syariah Court.