In Malaysia, the ongoing tension between jurisdiction of civil and religious courts has come to the fore in the case of an ethnic Indian, Elangeswaran Benedict, who committed suicide. Indo Asian News Service reported yesterday that when Benedict's family sought to claim his body from the Parit Buntar Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, they were told that they could not take the body for Hindu cremation rites because Benedict was a Muslim convert. The family brought suit in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur seeking a declaration that he was Hindu. A hearing was scheduled for Friday afternoon. However, on Friday morning, religious authorities quickly obtained an order from a Syariah Court ordering Benedict's burial as a Muslim. Benedict's wife, named as a respondent in the case, was not present in the religious court for the hearing. Benedict's family are now back in the High Court seeking an injunction to prevent religious authorities from claiming the body.
UPDATE: On July 7, High Court judge Datuk Balia Yusuf Wahi rejected the family's request for an injunction and Elangesvaran's body was buried according to Muslim tradition by the Parit Buntar state religious council. Nevertheless, according to the New Straits Times, the family has filed a notice of appeal in the case.
