THE DIVISION OF HARTA SEPENCARIAN OF MUSLIM CONVERTS UPON CONVERSION IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

Harta sepencarian refers to the ownership of the property acquired during the period of marriage by husband and wife, including spouses who convert to Islam. The main question related to the claims of harta sepencarian among Muslim converts is often which court shall have jurisdiction to hear the case, whether the Shariah Court or the Civil Court. This issue arises because it involves parties of different religions, who are governed by two different applications of law in Malaysia particularly in cases where only one party converts to Islam. Therefore, this article will discuss the position and practice of the division of harta sepencarian among Muslim converts in Malaysia. This article uses a descriptive-analytical approach based on content analysis of the data from previous studies. This article examines various aspects related to harta sepencarian and matrimonial property and their differences, the types of Muslim convert spouses and the different processes of claiming harta sepencarian according to Malaysian law. The findings of this article show that the Muslim convert and his/her spouse (whether converted to Islam or not) also have the right to claim the division of harta sepencarian in the event of a divorce or death. However, to determine which court has the jurisdiction to hear the cases related to harta sepencarian claims among Muslim converts and their spouses depends on the law of their marriage, whether it is registered in the Law Reform Act (Marriage and Divorce 1976) or act/state enactments of family law.