A three-member bench led by Justice Firuz Jaffril made the ruling after allowing an appeal by the Pahang Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (Muip).
“The issue of jurisdiction will be decided during the full hearing at the High Court,” Sinar Harian reported Firuz, who sat with Justices Alwi Abdul Wahab and Nadzarin Wok Nordin, as saying.
The court set aside a High Court ruling that the conversion of the 137 respondents was “void ab initio”, or invalid from the outset, holding that the matter must be decided during trial proceedings.
It also made no order as to costs, citing the public interest nature of the case.
During submissions, counsel Norazli Nordin, representing Muip, argued that the respondents’ claims should be heard in the shariah high court or subordinate shariah court.
He said the respondents had embraced Islam during a programme organised by the Malaysian Islamic Welfare Organisation and were converted by a religious teacher at the time.
“There are conversion certificates for some respondents, as well as declarations and evidence showing they are muallaf (reverts),” he said.
He argued that once a person embraced Islam, any process to leave the religion fell under the jurisdiction of the shariah courts.
A Surendra Ananth, representing the respondents, argued that the villagers had never embraced or practised Islam at any point.
He said they continued to practise their traditional beliefs and customs, which he described as animism.
The first to 56th respondents are Orang Asli from the Bateq Mayah ethnic group living in Kampung Benchah Kelubi, Merapoh, while respondents 57 to 137 are their children and grandchildren residing in the same area.
There were 87 adults and 50 teenagers and children aged between two and 18 when the application was filed, although 58 of the 87 adults have since died.
In September 2022, it was reported that the 137 respondents sought three declarations at the Kuantan High Court: that they were not Muslims, that the alleged mass forced conversions were unlawful and invalid, and that they be allowed to retain their original identity and culture without Islam being stated on their identity cards.
They named as defendants an officer from the Orang Asli development department’s (Jakoa) Lipis office, the Jakoa director-general, Muip, the Pahang government and the federal government.
On Dec 12, 2022, Muip filed an application seeking a declaration that the High Court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter, arguing that the claims should instead be heard in the Pahang shariah high court or a subordinate shariah court.
However, on March 21, 2025, Kuantan High Court judge Radzi Harun, now a Court of Appeal judge, dismissed the application, prompting the council to appeal.
The suit is scheduled for trial in September.