Nurul Izzah's husband refuses divorce, says he still loves her

The marital status of Lembah Pantai member of parliament, Nurul Izzah Anwar remained unchanged despite her bid to obtain a divorce.

Her husband Raja Ahmad Shahrir Iskandar Raja Salim, 35, told reporters that he refused to utter the 'talak' or pronouncement of divorce when the case was brought for mention in chambers today before Syarie judge Ab Malek Awang.

"I did not agree to divorce my wife as I still love her and the children," he told reporters later.

Nurul Izzah was present at the proceeding which lasted 40 minutes.

Earlier, Raja Ahmad Shahrir's counsel Azmi Mohd Rais said the court had advised the defendant to utter the talak.

"But he refused on grounds that the report prepared by the Conciliation Committee was too brief and incomplete.

"The report did not state in detail the problems faced by the couple," he told reporters.

The syarie counsel said he had asked for a new mediation date but was objected to by Nurul Izzah's counsel Nor Mawaddah Ramli.

Azmi said the court sustained the objection and fixed Dec 8 for appointment of a 'hakam'.

The hakam is a committee appointed by the Syariah Court to advise the husband on pronouncing the divorce and if he still refused, the former will utter the talak in his place.

Nurul Izzah, 34, the eldest of opposition chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's children, filed the application for divorce in early January.

She and Raja Ahmad Shahrir married on May 9, 2003 and have a daughter aged seven and son aged four years.

When approached by reporters, she declined to give a statement on the case and merely said, "Thank you for respecting my privacy".