GEORGETOWN, MALAYSIA -The Syariah High Court in Penang has delivered a landmark decision allowing a Chinese convert to renounce Islam and revert back to her Buddhist faith.

Syarie High Court judge Othman Ibrahim said the court had no choice but to declare Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah no longer a Muslim as she had never practised the teachings of Islam.

Siti Fatimah, who is from Nibong Tebal, is a Chinese by birth. She filed the application in May last year. In her affidavit to renounce the religion, Siti Fatimah, whose Chinese name is Tan Ean Huang, said she converted to Islam in July 1998.

However she never practised any of the Islamic teachings and claimed that she had converted for the sake of marrying an Iranian named Ferdoun Ashanian in 1999, but he left her a few months later. She has no knowledge of his current whereabouts.

There was pin drop silence as Othman delivered the decision. He also chastised the Penang Islamic Religious Council for failing to live up to its responsibilities and ensuring new converts truly understood the teachings of Islam.

He said it was regrettable that the council had neglected its duties and did not act quickly enough to save Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah's 'akidah' (faith).

Citing this as among causes that led to her shallow understanding of the religion, he said: "It is their obligation to encourage, support, help and ensure new converts understand and follow Islamic teachings.

"However, in this case nothing was done until the last moment when it was already too late," he said.

Othman noted that the council only entered its representations in Siti Fatimah's case at the end of the trial despite having been served notice right from the start.

He said the council should establish clear procedural and supervisory guidelines on the issue of conversions in and out of Islam.

Meanwhile, Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah, or Tan Ean Huang, 39, when met after the decision, said she was relieved and could now get on with her life.

"It has been traumatic for me while my case was pending. Now that it is finally over, I hope to move on.

"I also hope to be able to find a boyfriend now that the issue surrounding my religious status is cleared," she said.

Tan, who is the eldest among eight siblings, said she was thankful her family had been supportive of her all this while.