Various groups want other states to take their cue from the Negri Sembilan government after it introduced new laws for Muslim converts. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 6, 2015.
Various groups are urging other states to follow the Negri Sembilan government in introducing new laws for Muslim converts, noting that the state has now done what Putrajaya failed to do to resolve problems like the unilateral conversion of children by one spouse.
DAP national vice-chairman M. Kula Segaran also lauded the move, especially since Putrajaya had failed to introduce the necessary changes to effect a 2009 cabinet decision banning unilateral conversion of minors to Islam.
According to the lawyer who has been handling such cases, the then de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had announced the Cabinet's decision on unilateral conversion.
It was said then that unilateral conversions were being abused so as to escape the responsibilities of a civil union and to gain custody of the children.
National news agency Bernama reported yesterday that several proposed new regulations will be enforced in Negri Sembilan in a move to strengthen the law on converting to Islam as stipulated in the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Negri Sembilan) Enactment 2003.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the proposed regulations would not only strengthen the enactment, but would also avoid controversy and, most importantly, would ensure that Islam would not be ridiculed or insulted just because of a wrongdoing of a Muslim convert.
"The prime minister should take the lead and advice the respective states to enact a similar 'divorce first, then convert' law proposed by the Negri Sembilan government," Kula Segaran said, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Kula Segaran (pic, left) said these cases also took a lot of the court's time and caused financial hardship for the parties involved, citing the cases of Indira Gandhi and S. Deepa.
Both women's husbands had converted their children to Islam without their knowledge, resulting in bitter custody battles and abductions of the youngest child of each woman by the fathers who converted to Islam.
Both cases are pending in court.
Kula Segaran said today that although Section 51 of the law Reform Marriage Act provided for the non-Muslim partner to file for divorce, this has been abused by the converting spouse, such as converting the children without the consent.
"Also the converting spouse conveniently uses the conversion as a method to run away from their responsibilities towards the family," he added.
The lawyer also urged Putrajaya to introduce a bill in Parliament on this for the Federal Territories.
Former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan (pic, right) also commended Negri Sembilan MB Mohamad Hasan for "presenting the case so clearly" and the state ruler for consenting to the provisions.
"This is something that the federal government had tried to do a few years ago but failed.
"There may be some issues to iron out, but this is an important first step which will bring hope to many wives and children who have been victims of the jurisdictional divide between civil and shariah laws," she said.
Barisan Nasional party Gerakan also hailed the move saying it would effectively solve the poser over a child's religion after one spouse converts to Islam, as the Federal Constitution states that the religion of a person under 18 shall be decided by his parent and guardian.
Gerakan deputy youth chief Andy Yong said the interpretation of the word "parent" had been disputed in the courts and created a legal problem as to whether it should mean one parent only or could be read to mean both parents.
Women's rights groups under the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAC) also welcomed the proposal, calling it a positive step forward in addressing long-standing problems arising from the secret conversion of a person to Islam and the ensuing pain and trauma of family members.
- TMI
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