Conversions: Karpal to table private member’s bill

Although the controversial Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 has been withdrawn DAP chairman Karpal Singh will table a private member's bill to solve the problem once and for all.

GEORGE TOWN: DAP chairman Karpal Singh will table a private member’s bill in the Dewan Rakyat next week to amend Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution to stop the unilateral consent of a parent in deciding a minor’s religion.

The bill will seek to amend the clause in the Article from either parent to both parents or guardian.

He said the government’s withdrawal of the controversial Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 would not solve the problem affecting non-Muslims.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said the controversial bill was being withdrawn for now until a consensus had been reached among all stakeholders on the issue.

Karpal argued that unless and until the Article 12(4) was amended, the problem was far from over despite the withdrawal.

Currently Article 12(4) states that the religion of a person under the age of 18 is to be decided by parent or guardian.

Karpal called upon all PKR and PAS MPs, totalling 51, to join DAP’s 38 MPs to support his bill to find a permanent solution to safeguard public interest.

He admitted that Pakatan Rakyat had not taken a common stand on the issue, although elected representatives had voiced their personal views on it.

Karpal also called upon all 133 Barisan Nasional MPs to support his bill.

He cited that the Federal Court ruled in a 2007 case that the use of a singular word ‘parent’ in Article 12(4) rendered the consent of a single parent enough to validate the conversion of a minor to Islam.

The landmark decision was made in the Subashini Rajasingam case, in which the plaintiff’s husband, who converted to Islam, converted their child without her consent.

“Giving the rights to a single parent will lead to injustice. It should be both parents,” Karpal told a press conference during his visit to his Bukit Gelugor parliamentary constituency here today.

He cited an example in which a non-Muslim father could convert to Islam as well as all his children under18, leaving the mother with no choice.

He added that the non-Muslim mother would face a difficult situation to enforce her parental rights as she could not seek justice at the civil court if the father was a Muslim and also at the Syariah Court because of her non-Muslim status.

“Once and for all the Federal Constitution must be amended to overrule the Federal Court decision.