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A. Hafiz Yatim

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5: Three months ago, prominent lawyer Tan Sri Zaki Azmi (picture) took a second wife quietly in a ceremony in a textile shop in Perlis.

Both he and Nor Hayati Yahaya, 32, agreed to burn the original marriage certificate to hide the marriage from his first wife.

They also reached an agreement before the marriage that if the relationship soured, they would let each other go.

Nor Hayati told him: "If we cannot get along, you let me go. To this, he replied, 'Yes, but if I cannot get along with you, you let me go also.'

The relationship unravelled on July 10. After disagreements and a number of disturbing text messages, he divorced her on that day.

Since then, he alleged that he has received various threats from Nor Hayati. She allegedly demanded RM10 million and urged him to register their marriage. Failing which, she allegedly threatened to smear Zaki’s reputation.

The Umno disciplinary committee deputy chairman is now seeking a declaration from the Lower Syariah Court here that his second marriage is null and void.

Zaki, 60, is also seeking an order that Nor Hayati or her representatives are not allowed to trespass, disturb or threaten him on the matter including by using the mass media. Lower Syariah Court judge Mohd Zaim Mat Yudin today fixed Oct 4 as a mention date.

In his statement of claim filed on July 26, Zaki said that Nor Hayati and he were married in May this year in a ceremony presided by a kadi from Thailand.

After the ceremony, both the newly-weds signed a form, which was written in Jawi and Thai.

He sought legal advice after the divorce and was told that his marriage may not have been legal under the local Syarak and Syariah law.

The 59th Federal Territory Consultative meeting states that a marriage performed by a Thai kadi outside his jurisdiction in Thailand is considered void.

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