The Federal Territories Shariah Court has formed a new division to pursue Muslim men who fail to pay alimony and child support

FT sets up new Shariah unit to act on delinquent alimony, child support payments

Yiswaree Palansamy
Malay Mail2 September 2019






Mohd Na'im said Shariah courts are authorised to order wage garnishment, property forfeiture and even imprisonment of up to three years for cases of delinquent payments. — Reuters picMore


KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — The Federal Territories Shariah Court has formed a new division to pursue Muslim men who fail to pay alimony and child support, which is empowered to apply penalties such as fines and asset seizures.

The Straits Times reported that the special unit was set up last month to aid divorced Muslim women, some of whom have been made to wait up to 14 months for action against errant ex-husbands.

The move is the brainchild of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa, which is aimed at reforming the country’s Shariah law system.

ST reported that the initiative will be piloted in Kuala Lumpur and expanded nationwide if successful.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. A lot of ex-husbands used to refuse to pay because they know the ex-wives can’t afford legal assistance. At the end of the day, they get away scot-free,” Shariah Judiciary Department director-general Mohd Na’im Mokhtar was quoted as saying.

“Now, if (a man) doesn’t comply with the order, we will take action.”

He added that the Shariah courts are authorised to order wage garnishment, property forfeiture and even imprisonment of up to three years for cases of delinquent payments.

Additionally, the report said that the Shariah Family Support Division, which is under the Shariah Judiciary Department, also provides free accommodation, transport and meals for women and children who are forced to travel far from home to attend court hearings.

ST reported that statistics provided by the Shariah Judiciary Department revealed that divorce cases nationwide rose by almost 20 per cent between 2013 and 2018, going from 16,850 cases to 20,070.

It said that the number of cases registered in court regarding custody and maintenance payments also climbed from 5,831 in 2013 to 8,106 last year.

Telenisa, Muslim NGO Sisters in Islam’s (SIS) free legal advisory service, said last year that it had handled 576 family-related cases in 2018 alone.

According to Telenisa, the highest number from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur ― in addition to 16 clients from overseas. Out of the total, 411 were new clients.

When it comes to cases involving former wives, a third of them involved maintenance ― mostly where husbands are not providing any.

SIS said it dealt with 176 polygamy cases last year, a stark increase from 106 cases in 2017 and 75 in 2016. Over one in 10 of the cases involved polygamous marriages that were not registered in the country, while 16 per cent of the cases involved polygamous marriage done without the knowledge of the first wife.