Thursday, 10 July 2025

Divorce cases up but remain under control

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Chief Syarie Judge of Sarawak Datuk Awang Suhaili Ledi.

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By Nurin Patra

KUCHING: Sarawak’s divorce rate has seen a slight uptick, with almost 6,000 cases resolved through court procedures and the cooperation of all parties involved.

Chief Syarie Judge of the Sarawak Syariah Judiciary Department (JKSS), Datuk Awang Suhaili Ledi, said while the number of divorce cases has risen slightly, the situation remains manageable and under control.

“The trend has increased slightly but not drastically. It is still under control, sometimes we cannot avoid divorce altogether.

“Based on our latest statistics, there are nearly 6,000 total cases — meaning criminal cases, Syariah Lower Court cases, Syariah High Court cases, and Syariah Court of Appeal cases. Compared to the previous year, it has risen slightly.

“Various factors and personal issues often contribute to the rise in divorce cases, and such proceedings commonly lead to related matters such as child maintenance, child custody, division of matrimonial property, and maintenance during the waiting period (nafkah iddah),” he said.

He said this to reporters during the Sarawak National Syariah Convention (KoSKeS) 2025 which was officiated by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan representing Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg at Dewan Kompleks Islam Sarawak on Tuesday (June 24).

As for pending cases, they are also under control, and any delays only involve isolated cases due to specific factors, he said.

“We must understand that delays in a case are not solely the responsibility of the court; many other parties are involved, such as witnesses, lawyers, plaintiff and defendants.

“This means that all relevant parties play a role in ensuring cases can be resolved smoothly and efficiently,” he said.

Meanwhile, regarding cases involving faith conflicts and religious conversion, he stated that the Sarawak Syariah Court has specific procedures for handling such cases.

“We use the Rules of Declaration of Islamic Religion Status, 2018, for filing and handling such matters and this is the law we apply to manage related cases.

“However, such cases are still under control in Sarawak, and we manage them based on these rules,”he added.

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