Remember the case of runaway Indonesian teen model Manohara Odelia Pinot who was ordered by Syarie Judge Mohd Yusof Awang from the Syariah High Court to be loyal to her Kelantanese prince husband and to pay back Rm 1,112,250 (approximately US$327,000) owed to him? Here is an update.
The Kelantan prince, the Tengku Temenggong of Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra Sultan Ismail Petra has taken what is known as the “yamin istizhar” (explicit promise) oath at the Syariah High Court before Syarie Court Judge Mohd Yusof Awang last Sunday.
Last December 13, Syarie Judge Mohd Yusof Awang ruled that Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra Sultan Ismail Petra did not mistreat his teenage wife, Manohara Odelia Pinot and ordered her to return (“be loyal”) to her husband. The judge also ruled that various sums of money given to Manohara Odelia Pinot were loans rather than gifts, which must be returned.
In his December 13, 2009 ruling, Syarie Judge Mohd Yusof Awang said that once the “yamin istizhar” oath is taken, then Manohara Odelia Pinot has 14 days to be loyal (return) to her husband, and 30 days to return all the loans in a lump sum. The actual taking of the “yamin istizhar” oath is therefore crucial to the timeline for Manohara Odelia Pinot to comply with the Syariah High Court.
But what is a “yamin istizhar” oath? It is an explicit promise to tell the truth before God, something like “I promise to tell the truth before God”. The “yamin istizhar” oath taken by Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra Sultan Ismail Petra include a declaration that the money he gave to Manohara Odelia Pinot before and after their marriage were loans to her, and the money was “Dom” (personal) property.
The “yamin istizhar” oath also include a further declaration that his testimony stated in the 2 affidavits regarding the case were true.
What happens if Manohara Odelia Pinot refuses to return to Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra Sultan Ismail Petra? In that case she is considered a disloyal wife (nusyuz). The consequence of being a nusyuz wife is that Manohara Odelia Pinot will have no rights to any privileges from her husband, including the right to financial support in a divorce situation.
However, it seems that even if she is declared a nusyuz wife, Manohara Odelia Pinot can still use her royal title of Cik Puan Temenggong.
Think about it. This practise of declaring a woman nusyuz can sometimes be abused. There is apparently an increase in the number of husbands intending to divorce their wives seeking a court declaration that their wives are nusyuz. Once this order is granted, the husbands are then not obliged to pay their divorced wives any financial maintenace. Is this fair to Muslim women?
Related posts
Malaysia – Syariah Court To Manohara: “Be Loyal”
Manohara To Ignore Syariah Court Order To Be Loyal To Husband
Malaysia – High Court Ruled Manohara And Mother Defamed Husband
Manohara’s Mother A Fujitive
yes it is fair.
the provision of nusyuz is provided under the syariah law and has it’s own set of condition to apply. it is not a provision created merely by men such as the civil law.
a sane husband will not suddenly wake up one morning and decided he want to divorce his wife for no reason.
there are obligations and privileges on men and women, it is when those obligations/privileges are tainted by “western” or “democratic” ideologies (the so called equal opportunity, free agent, right to free speach etc) that problems starts.
as muslims, we have to accept that there is a higher law governing us than just the civil law… there is the syariah law.