‘Cabinet must have approved Conversion Bill’

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim wants to know why certain ministers are only rejecting the Bill now after it has been approved by the Cabinet.

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has urged ministers who openly rejected the proposed Conversion Bill to come clean on how the Bill was approved in the Cabinet before it was tabled in Parliament.

He told a press conference in the Parliament’s lobby today that Tourism Ministers Nazri Aziz and Minister in the Prime Minister Department Paul Low should have blocked the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act Amendment Bill 2013 when it was discussed in the Cabinet.

“You must explain why was it approved in Cabinet, why were you silent when the Bill was tabled?” he said.

Low said yesterday that the proposed amendment which allows conversion of minor to Islam with the consent of one, instead of both parent, is a denial of the parents’ rights.

Nazri also said that he was uncomfortable with the new amendment because it was unfair to say that only one parent can determine the child’s religion.

‘Jusof denies report’

Meanwhile on a separate matter, Anwar said former Indonesian president Jusof Kalla has denied condemning him as what was reported in an article of Merdeka Online.com

In the article published last month and latter quoted by Berita Harian and New Straits Times, writer Al-Azharri Sidiq had claimed that he met Jusof for an hour in his house, where Jusof claimed that Washington had played a part to influence the 13th general election results.

The writer also claimed that Jusof had told Anwar off when Anwar insisted rejecting the election results due to the indelible ink and phantom voters’ issues. The duo was also said to have discussed the future of Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah.

Anwar said today that Jusuf has told him in an email exchange that what was written in the article was false and he has filed four objections to Berita Harian.

“He told me that Berita Harian has misquoted him,” Anwar said.

Meanwhile, the Permatang Pauh MP also condemned the Egypt coup d’état, saying the military should not have deposed president Mohamed Morsi even though certain people were unhappy with him.

He said Morsi was elected in a “free and fair” election in Egypt.

“They are some people trying to rationalize (the coup) by saying it is because of the government’s weakness, but this can be challenged by asking for swift electoral process, but you can not condone military coup in any form,” he said.