Ms Tan Eng Huang aka Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah made the right choice to apply for conversion out of Islam through the Syariah High Court of Penang. Ms Tan was following the correct procedures as only the Syariah court has the jurisdiction to decide on matters pertaining to Islamic faith and not the civil court according to the Malaysian constitution at the time of writing.
One may argue that Ms Tan does not come under the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court since she is no longer a Muslim. This is similar to arguing that the 1995 rape case involving American military personnels in Okinawa should not come under the jurisdiction of Japanese legal system but only the military court of the United States Armed Forces.
With so many of such conversion cases, Malaysians will have to understand that the National Registration Department (Jabatan Pendafaftaran Negara) does not have the authority/jurisdiction to delete the word “Islam” from the identity card of Ms Lina Joy without a declaration from the Syariah Court which states Ms Lina Joy is no longer a Muslim. The NRD was merely carrying out their duty. Similarly like the case of Ms Tan, the Syariah Court of Penang does not have the authority to delete the word “Islam” from her identity card although she has been declared a non-Muslim by the court (as reported by the Star).
While it may be true that there will be hurdles when applying for conversion out of Islam through the Syariah Courts, applying through the proper channel at the right state (such as Negeri Sembilan) which has provisions for conversion out of Islam will make a lot of difference. In short, Ms Lina Joy made a tactical mistake which has also caused the nation to be divided.
Dislaimer: While I agree that Ms Tan should be allowed to leave Islam (was she a Muslim in the first place?), in no way I am supporting apostasy. As she was never a Muslim (at least in practice - not on paper) and the Muslim community including her Iranian ex-husband did nothing to help her to understand the teachings of Islam, she should not be forced to embrace Islam. This case is a lot more straightforward and simpler than the case Ms Lina Joy who was brought up a Muslim and made a tactical mistake by applying through the wrong channel.