MIC Youth: Jamil Khir interpreting law to suit Islamist agenda

Cabinet minister Jamil Khir Baharom is interpreting the federal constitution to suit the Islamist agenda on unilateral conversions, said MIC Youth chief C Sivaraajh.

"He is unilaterally interpreting the constitution to suit his and the needs of Islamists. Certain Islamists want to roll back many articles in the constitution to make it more Islamic.

"Preferably, they would like to reinvent the constitution in the shariah image giving preeminence to Islam. This is not what the framers of constitution originally intended," he said in a statement

Jamil Khir, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Islamic affairs, in a parliamentary reply yesterday said it is unconstitutional to ban unilateral conversions, as Article 12(4) states a "parent" can change a child's faith.

He said this is based on the R Subashini case where the federal court dismissed a challenge by a Hindu parent against her child's conversion to Islam, by her estranged husband.

However, constitutional law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi said the case, which was dismissed on a technicality, does not change the interpretation of the word 'parent' in Article 12(4) from both parents, and not just one.

Sivaarajh (photo) said the dithering on the term parent to be accepted as plural is unreasonable as the Bahasa Malaysia version states 'ibu bapa'.

"What is so difficult to understand such a term? Every school child will know this term," he added.

Sivaarajh said the only way to resolve disputes on the religion of children is to maintain the child's religion to what was registered at birth until the child turns 18, unless both parents consent to a conversion.

"This is the only way forward for the conversion controversy that has plagued race relations in our society for decades," he said.

On March 9, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri said the drafting of laws pertaining to the unilateral conversion of minors has been completed.

“From the aspect of civil (law), we do not have much problems, but this also relates to syariah (law),” Nancy said then.

From the syariah law aspect, she said, Jamil Khir has been obtaining feedback from the state religious bodies.

“A series of consultations with the states have been conducted,” Nancy said.

The cabinet had set up a five-member special committee in its latest attempt to deal with the interfaith conversion dispute and custody matters.-Mkini