6 theSun | TUESDAY JUNE 30 2009

news without borders

Astronaut’s family in
children’s custody bid
SHAH ALAM: The Syariah High Court here yes-
terday fixed Aug 12 for mention of an application
by the parents of the country’s first astronaut,
Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Mustapha,
to get custody of two of their grandchildren
after the death of the children’s father, Sheikh
Mustapha Shukor Al Masrie, 32, two years ago.
Judge Mohamad Khalid Shaee set the date to
enable the plaintiffs and defendants to resolve
the matter amicably.
Zuraida Sheikh Ahmad and Sheikh Mustapha
Sheikh Abdul Shukor filed the application on Dec
23 last year to get custody of their grandchil-
dren, Sheikh Aiman Shukor Al-Masrie, four, and
Siti Balkish Aisha Al-Masrie, two, under Section
87 (1) of the Selangor Islamic Family Law Enact-
ment 2003. Zuraida, 64, and Sheikh Mustapha,
74, as the plaintiffs named Haryati Mohd Redza,
31, and Haryati’s mother, Kamar Aziah Abdullah,
61, as defendants.
The parents of the nation’s first astronaut
were represented by syariah lawyer Zulqarnain
Lukman, while Haryati and Kamar Aziah were
represented by syariah lawyer Suriati Abdul
Ghani. Both the plaintiffs and the defendants
were not present in court.
Dr Sheikh Muszaphar’s younger brother,
Sheikh Mustapha, a civil engineer, passed away
in the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre on Oct
27, 2007 after being in a coma for a week after
bumping into a pillar outside a restaurant on
Jalan Klang Lama in Kuala Lumpur.
He married Haryati, an accounts executive
with MIMOS Bhd, on Sept 6, 2003.
Met by reporters outside the court, Zulqarnain
said his clients filed the application with reason
that they had been raising and looking after the
children since they were born. – Bernama

State on overdrive to
save village: Guan Eng
by Himanshu Bhatt Hindraf plans
newsdesk@thesundaily.com to protest
GEORGE TO WN
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang govern- wide protests : Hindraf is set on holding
ment is working overtime for a settle- against the DA nation-
concern abou
ment between the developer of a land t the Penang go P today to voice its
inability to pr vernment’s pe
event the evic rc
housing the century-old Kampung Buah village on the tion of the on eived
Pala and the villagers there, even as island. ly Indian
Hindraf nationa
Hindraf announces plans to burn Chief has said protes l information coordinator
ts S. Jayat-
Minister Lim Guan Eng’s effigy at Kom- in Negri Sembi were planned outside DAP
lan, Se office
tar on Wednesday. He said he wou langor, Perak and Penang s
Lim said yesterday his two deputies, Minister Lim ld also lead th .
Guan Eng’s ef e burning of Ch
Mansor Othman and Prof Dr P Rama- firm commitm fi gy, unless Lim ief
samy, were aggressively pursuing the ent that the gave a
would not be Kampung Bu
matter and urged villagers to entrust destroyed on ah Pala
He dismisse July 2.
them to proceed legally. could not acqu d Lim’s assertion that th
“You need to distinguish between ire the land to e state
to the high co sa
who your friend is and who your st involved. He ve the village due
offer the deve said the state
enemy is,” he said, stressing that loper another could
current village piece of land
the state had been working hard to be pres er ve , and the
On assertions d as a heritage encl
ensure the villagers’ welfare. the Barisan Na that the problem was crea ave.
“If we had taken any other sional, Jayath ted by
the day, the ch as said: “At th
ief m e end of
position, would the villagers still be Meanwhile, an inister has the power.”
there?” he said at a press confer- granted to th application
ence at his office here. e developer to to set aside the leave
sion, to be en issue a writ of
He said that the current govern- forced on July posses-
Court registry 2, was filed at
ment was working to help them here yesterda the High
y.
when it was the Barisan Nasional
(BN) that had caused the problem.
The residents say they were tenants of the
Brown Estate and their tenancy was converted Section 76 of the National Land Code 1965
without their knowledge to Temporary Occupa- read together with the Land Acquisition Act.
tion Licences (TOL). Lim responded by saying such a proposition
The High Court had decided last year in fa- was not feasible as it would involve the state hav-
vour of the residents, but it was overturned by ing to pay a lot of money. “We cannot afford. We
the Court of Appeal on May 11 this year, giving are talking about a very substantial sum. You do
owner Koperasi Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan and not even dare to guess the amount,” he said.
developer Nusmetro Sdn Bhd vacant possession Villagers told reporters that they were sum-
of the land. moned for a meeting with the George Town district
On June 24, the Federal Court dismissed the police chief and the developers last Saturday.
residents’ case on grounds that their claims had They said they were told by the police to
no standing. cooperate when a court bailiff serves them a writ
Hindraf adviser S. Uthayakumar has said the to vacate on Thursday.
state could secure the village by acquiring the land Lim, however, said he was not informed about
on grounds of public purpose and interests, under the matter by the police or the bailiff.

Anwar’s sodomy appeal today

PUTRAJAYA: Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim’s appeal against the High Court’s order
that his sodomy case be tried at the High Court
was postponed to today to enable him to attend
the Dewan Rakyat sitting yesterday.
The Court of Appeal comprising justices Datuk
Abdull Hamid Embong, Datuk Abu Samah Nordin
and Datuk Jeffery Tan Kok Wha, fixed the date
after granting Anwar’s lead counsel Sulaiman
Abdullah’s request for postponement.
Sulaiman said Anwar had to attend the Dewan
Rakyat to enable him to take part in the debate
on the Judges Code of Ethics, which was due to
be tabled yesterday.
The prosecution team, led by Solicitor-General
II Datuk Yusof Zainal Abiden, had no objections
to the adjournment to enable both parties to file
written submissions and certain documents to
the court.
Anwar had challenged the validity of the
certificate signed by Attorney-General Tan Sri
Abdul Gani Patail to transfer the case to the High
Court, claiming that Abdul Gani could not sign the
document because he was still under investiga-
tion by the Anti-Corruption Agency, now called the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC),
in connection with Anwar’s police report on the
“black eye” incident. – Bernama