Family Saga

The family saga which rocks Haji Yusoff's family revolves around Islamic laws, Civil laws and the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA).

Before 1950:
Before Haji Yusoff's demise, he appointed 2 of his sons, Haji Ismail and Othman, to be trustees of his Estate. The family of Haji Yusoff trusted them and did not question the manner they carried out their administrative estate duties. They were after all their blood relatives. Each time Hajah Fatimah, Hidayah's grandmother (Haji Yusoff's eldest daughter) asked about estate matters, she was told off by the trustees, "Tak percaya kita kah?" (You don't trust us?).

19 November 1992:
Haji Ismail appointed his son, Zhulkeflee Ismail (Hidayah's second cousin) as additional trustee to replace Othman who retired due to illness. The beneficiaries of Haji Yusoff put their trust in Zhulkeflee as he was an Ustaz (religious teacher) and appeared credible and trustworthy.
[Deed of Appointment]

Date unknown:
Haji Ismail retired due to illness.

March 1999:
The family was informed by Zhulkeflee (the sole Estate's trustee) that Gedung Kuning was to be acquired by the Singapore Government under the Land Acquisition Act.
[Letter from Land Office]
The beneficiaries were upset that Zhulkeflee liaised with the Land Office without any of them present.
3 family meetings followed. The beneficiaries were told that they could not contest the acquisition and must comply with the law. They asked Zhulkeflee to consult the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) about Haji Yusoff's Will.

28 April 1999:
The Istana Kampung Gelam (IKG) family petitioned against the acquisition of the Istana. However, the Gedung Kuning family's case was different as Gedung Kuning became private property since early 1900s.
[IKG Letter of Appeal]

4 August 1999:
Deed of Assignment was signed by the descendants of Mohamed (Haji Yusoff's son from Noribah, his first wife). The assignees (Mohamed Noor, Ibrahim, Ali, Asmah, Harun, Munah, Mariam and Aminah) assigned to Shaik Raheem s/o Abdul Shaik Shaik Dawood "all rights, title, estate and interest, including any rights under any trusts, in all the property real and personal of whatever and wherever situate which may be due and payable to Assignors as the beneficiaries of the Estate of the said Mohamed Bin Haji Yousoff."
The descendants of Haji Yusoff's second wife (Hajah Aisah) were not aware of the Deed of Assignment until 2 October 2002 when the estate lawyers received a notification letter from Kalamohan & Co.
[Deed of Assignment] [Notification Letter]

30 August 1999:
Zhulkeflee told the beneficiaries that the government would compensate the Estate of Haji Yusoff SGD3.6 million for the acquisition of Gedung Kuning (13,254 square feet of prime land area). The beneficiaries were unhappy as they had no alternative accommodation as Zhulkeflee had informed them late.

11 September 1999:
Gedung Kuning was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act and now belonged to the Singapore Government. The beneficiaries who were staying in Gedung Kuning had to leave the mansion.

Circa 2000:
Various requests were made to Zhulkeflee about the Estate's outstanding Statements of Accounts but all requests and demands fell to deaf ears. The beneficiaries began to realise that they should not have trusted Zhulkeflee whole-heartedly.
They also asked MUIS to issue a Fatwa (religious ruling) on the validity of Haji Yusoff's Will.

The Will: The issue in question is the clause in Haji Yusoff's Will that stated "the date of distribution... shall mean 21 years after the death of the last survivor of my said children and of my said grandchildren".

The provisions in the Will contradict Islamic laws of Faraid (law pertaining to the distribution of inheritance) as inheritance must be distributed upon the death of the person. The Will was written in English by F.B. Oehlers, Barrister-at-Law. There was no mention if the Will was translated in Malay to Haji Yusoff who could neither read nor write English.

Implications: None of the beneficiaries is able to get their inheritance (including the SGD3.6 million compensation). This is unfortunate as some family members are very old, sickly, homeless and live in poverty.
It has been more than 50 years since Haji Yusoff's death and no inheritance has been given out to the beneficiaries.

*Beneficiaries may contact us to read the Grant of Probate.

3 August 2000:
MUIS issued a Fatwa stating that Will is null and void and that the inheritance must be distributed according to Faraid.
[1st Fatwa]

26 August 2000:
Zhulkeflee wrote to the beneficiaries informing them that he will respect and adhere to the Fatwa.
[Zhulkeflee's letter]

20 May 2001:
Zhulkeflee wrote to the Fatwa Committee requesting clarification and ruling on the validity of Haji Yusoff's Will. However, the beneficiaries were not sure if he did mail the letter and they were not informed of the Committee's response.
[Zhulkeflee's letter to Mufti]

Circa 2001-2003:
Haji Yusoff's beneficiaries were kind-hearted and tried to resolve the matter amicably. But Zhulkeflee never wanted to meet them to discuss. He did not even turn up at the lawyer's office during their meetings. He ignored their letters and pleas. Yet the family kept the saga away from the press. They did not want to embarrass Ustaz Zhulkeflee who had quite a large following.
They then brought this matter to the attention of various religious authorities (i.e. MUIS, the late Ustaz Syed Abdullah Al-Jufrie and the Singapore Islamic Scholars & Religious Teachers Association or PERGAS) asking them to advise Zhulkeflee. Several meetings were held (with Zhulkeflee's presence) whereby Zhulkeflee was advised accordingly. Zhulkeflee promised to follow Islamic law.
[PERGAS' letter]

29 April 2002:
In Zhulkeflee's Affidavit in Originating Summons 60 of 2002/F in the High Court of Singapore, he affirmed that:
".....As a trustee, I would have to uphold the terms of the trust and in order for the trust to be managed smoothly, it would be necessary for my co-trustees to be of similar mind and not persons who have at the back of their minds an intention to break the trusts because they are contrary to Muslim law."
His Affidavit contradicted his promise (given to family members & religious bodies) to adhere to the Fatwa.
[Zhulkeflee's Affidavit]

7 October 2002:
MUIS issued another Fatwa stating:
"....the will made by Haji Yusoff bin Mohd Noor, the deceased, is not valid. This is because the will purported to benefit the testator's heir. According to the Islamic (Syariah) Law, such a will is not valid...... Furthermore, the beneficiaries are the deceased "heirs" which did not exist at the time.... A person who dies cannot decide when and to whom the estate should be distributed, unless he made a valid will according to Islamic Law which is:
1. Nor purported to the legal beneficiaries
2. Not more than 1/3
3. The beneficiaries should be in existence
4. They are defined.

It is because issues of inheritance are ordained by Allah swt as explained in the Quran in surah An-Nisa verse 11 which means: "These are settled portions ordained by Allah".
[2nd Fatwa]

Circa 2002-2004:
Hidayah wrote to the Minister in-charge of Muslim Affairs (in 2001 & 2003) and to the Prime Minister in 2004 to inform them about the social injustices that was happening to the family of Haji Yusoff.
[Minister's Response]

Legal position: The AMLA became law only on 1 July 1968. AMLA provides that the estate of a deceased Muslim shall be distributed according to Islamic law. This provision is mandatory. A Muslim may make a will but the will must be made in accordance with Islamic law, e.g. one cannot will his estate to an heir and one cannot will more than 1/3 of his estate. In other words. if the will contravenes or conflicts with the principles of Faraid, then the will is not valid. This applies only to Muslims who passed away after 1 July 1968.

Conflict: If Haji Yusoff were to pass away after 1 July 1968, the beneficiaries would have been able to exercise their rights to follow Faraid and the Civil Court will not uphold the Will. But since he passed away in 1950, this provision is not made available to his family.
Islamic law should apply to Muslims regardless of the time period. The beneficiaries of the Estate of Haji Yusoff are all Muslims and would like to follow Islamic law. However they are 'trapped' by the time frame laid down by AMLA. They pray for redress on the basis of social justice.

21 October 2005:
Hidayah proposed to the Minister in-charge of Muslim Affairs the need to review AMLA.

Circa 2002-2006:
Legal proceedings on other matters ensued. Please read 'Court Cases'.

To date:
It is ironic and sad that Zhulkeflee, an 'Islamic Scholar' (as he is known to the public), still refuses to adhere to Islamic law of Faraid.
The court appointed trustee, Idris Hanafiah is now changing his stand and wants to uphold the Will even though it is in contradiction with Faraid. Abdullah Joffri is the only court-appointed trustee who wants to adhere to Faraid and give the beneficiaries their rights of inheritance.
May God the Almighty guide us all to the right path, ameen.