KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 13): The Syariah High Court today allowed the widow of the late former minister Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis, Kalsom Ismail, and her four children, to intervene in his mother's faraid (Islamic wealth distribution) claim to the portion of the RM2.1 billion estate left by the deceased, according to Malaysiakini.

This came after Jamaluddin's mother Aminah Abdullah did not make an objection on the application, to intervene.

In the report, Malaysiakini learnt Kalsom and her children, aged between 23 and 33, had filed their faraid claim in 2016, but allegedly without Aminah's knowledge.

In addition, the syariah court also granted leave (permission) for the widow and family to file a preliminary objection to Aminah's claim.

The decision was made by registrar Siti Zulaikha Mansor in chambers, reported Malaysiakini.

The widow and her children were given three weeks to file a preliminary objection by the court, which also fixed Oct 15 for mention of the case.

Lawyer Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman appeared for Aminah, while Shamsuriah Sulaiman acted for Kalsom. The children were represented by lawyer Zuri Zabuddin Budiman.

On Aug 29, it was reported the 83-year-old Aminah had filed a lawsuit on March 2 at the Syariah Court, seeking a share of her late son’s properties worth at least RM2.1 billion.  

The 83-year-old mother has listed various assets belonging to the former Rompin member of parliament, including 22 landed properties in Pahang and Kuala Lumpur, 21 bank accounts with a total of more than RM15 million, several properties in the US and Mecca, as well as a company he owned. Aminah was divorced from Jamaluddin’s father, former Pahang police chief, in 1954.

Under the shariah, the mother gets one-sixth of the estate’s assets, the wife gets one-eighth, while the remainder is shared among the children.

Jamaluddin, fondly known as JJ, was said to be a close confidant of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and has held various cabinet posts, including the Malaysian envoy to the US.

He and several others, including Najib's private secretary Azlin Alias, died in a helicopter crash on April 4, 2015. The report on the investigation into the helicopter crash, said it was the result of pilot negligence.