Move without waiting for Najib raises eyebrows: Muhyiddin withdraws controversial conversion Bill

UPDATE2 In a surprise move, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has announced the withdrawal of a proposed Bill that would allow children to be converted to Islam with the permission of just one parent.

“We also want to give time to the government and all parties to review the bill holistically and will only re-table the bill once we achieve a consensus,” Muhyiddin said in a statement issued on Friday.

The decision will be much lauded, especially by the non-Muslims in the country, who fear their most fundamental right would be impinged by the proposed new law.

Many experts and prominent citizens have warned that if passed, the law could permanently divide multiracial Malaysia due to the sensitive issues of freedom of worship and ethic supremacy involved.

Political undertones

Muhyiddin's announcement also raised eyebrows as many had expected him and the Cabinet to wait for Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is in London on a working visit, to return before making the high-profile decision.

In particular, it has set off renewed speculation that the 65-year-old Muhyiddin was trying to make peace with the non-Malays, who form the minority in the country, with the view of replacing Najib as prime minister.

Muhyiddin is notorious for his "I'm Malay first, Malaysian second" comment, which many in the country have criticized as being supportive of a racist agenda. Muhyddin's Umno party promotes a Malay 'supremacy' ideology so as to win the votes of the community, which forms about 55% of a 28 million population.

Umno is due to hold its party election within the next few months and many believe Muhyiddin will challenge Najib for the Umno presidency.

Outcry

Whatever the political undertones, non-Muslmis welcomed the decision.

"We don't have the details yet. Hopefully, this means that we will see the end of such unfair legislation although from Muhyiddin's comment, it is clear that the government can re-table such a law. It is good news of course but it is hard for me to call it a victory because what is there to win? We are all guaranteed certain rights and protection in the Federal Constitution. Why should we have to fight to defend ourselves against a law that is so one-sided in the first place? If everyone respected everyone, and no race tries to bully another race and no religion tries to bully another religion, why should such a law crop up in the first place," Eddie Lee, a political observer, told Malaysia Chronicle.

The proposed amendment to Section 107(b) of the Administration of Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 was tabled for first reading at the Malaysian Parliament last week, sparking a huge public uproar.

If endorsed, it would have allowed the conversion of minors to Islam with just one parent’s approval.

"The MCCBCHST  wishes to reiterate that any unilateral conversion of their children by one parent encroaches into the lives of Non-Muslims. Such conversions are not only unconstitutional but are morally  and ethically  wrong. We ask Cabinet members how they will feel if their children are unilaterally  converted. Do not do things  to others, which you do not want to be done to you," The Malaysian Consultative  Council Of Buddhism, Christianity,  Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism had said.

"The Malaysian Bar is concerned that section 107(b) of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 (D.R.1/2013) (“the 2013 Bill”), which has been tabled in Parliament, purports to provide that the consent of one parent alone is sufficient for the conversion of minor children to Islam. 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," Christopher Leong, president of the Malaysian Bar had warned.

"The 2013 Bill should reflect the meaning of “parent” contained in Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution, read with Article 160 and the Eleventh Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which expressly provide 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," Leong added.

Malaysia Chronicle