'Amending FT Islamic law on conversion unconstitutional'

The amendment to the Federal Territories Islamic law tabled in Parliament for only one parent’s consent to convert a minor will first require an amendment to the federal constitution, says the Malaysian Bar.

Its president Christopher Leong said that the meaning of the word ‘parent’ in the Bill should be in line with the meaning of the same word in the federal constitution - that is to refer to both parents if they are still alive.

“We reiterate that the unilateral conversion of minor children to any religion by a parent, without the consent of the non-converting parent, is contrary to our constitutional scheme," said Leong (left) in a statement today.

“The 2013 Bill should reflect the meaning of ‘parent’ as contained in Article 12(4) of the federal constitution, read with Article 160 and the Eleventh Schedule of the federal constitution, which expressly provides that all words appearing in the federal constitution which are stated in one gender also include the other gender, and all words in the singular also include the plural,” he said.

Leong was responding to the tabling of the amendment to Section 107(b) of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) in the current sitting of the Dewan Rakyat.

Lobbyists in cases of dispute over the conversion of minors to Islam claim that case law supports the interpretation of the reference to ‘parent’ in the laws to any one parent, and not both.

[More to follow]