Group: Religious authority 'negligent' in registering Loh's children as Muslims

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has accused the Perlis religious authority and the state mufti of being negligent in registering single mother Loh Siew Hong's three children as Muslims.

It was responding to Loh's case where her three underage children were converted to Islam without her consent.

MCCBCHST pointed out a remark made by Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin in a video yesterday, where he said the children were registered as Muslims when they were brought to the authorities by their father and that the authorities did not research about their mother.

"These admitted facts clearly show the negligence of the Perlis Islamic Religious Department for allowing the children’s conversion without the mother’s consent.

"The mufti again sadly applies the wrong principle when he said 'but if the child is already mumayyiz capable of distinguishing good from bad, they can choose to go to their non-Muslim mother or Muslim father'.

"This is an incorrect position as sole custody over the children has been granted to the mother. Moreover, the father is unable to look after the children and is in prison for drug related offences," the council said in a statement today.

Mumayyiz is an Arabic word referring to a stage where children or teenagers are able to differentiate between good and bad.

Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (right) with two of Loh’s children

MCCBCHST also raised another remark by Asri, where he asked the children whether they wanted to be Muslims and told them that he would work towards ensuring that they remain in the religion.

It said the mufti has to understand the law, where a single parent is not allowed to convert a child into another religion without the consent of the other parent.

"Both parents must consent. This being the judgment of the apex court, his promise to the twin girls 'that he would work towards ensuring the girls remained Muslims', is untenable and against legal position.

“The Perlis mufti must understand that the Federal Constitution is the supreme law and all religions are subject to it," it added.

The group called for the Perlis religious authority to hand over the custody of the children to Loh, as per the Kuala Lumpur High Court's order.

"In view of the Federal Court decision in the case of M Indira Gandhi, the conversion of the three children will be null and void as the mother’s consent had not been obtained.

”The Perlis Religious Department should therefore unilaterally cancel the children’s conversion to Islam without requiring the single mother to obtain a court order to quash the wrongful conversion of her three children," MCCBCHST said.

Consent bill needed

The Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) called on the government to table a bill in the next Parliament session that makes it a requirement for authorities to get consent from both parents before any underage child can be converted to another belief.

In a statement, it said while there has been a landmark ruling serving as precedent against unilateral conversion of children, such incidents remained rampant.

"KLSCAH urges the government to make law amendments in the next Parliament session and set the law to require any conversion of underage children to another religion must be consented by both their parents first,” it said.

It added that the Perlis mufti had in a fatwa in 2015 said that the custody right of an underage child should not be determined by the religion of their parents.

“(The mufti said) the main consideration must be about preparing the children with the proper environment for their growth and psychological development.

"If we are to compare with today's case, where Loh's children allegedly want to remain with their Islamic identity without their mother, surely it raises doubt.

"KLSCAH believes that the Perlis Welfare Department, after determining that Loh is fit to care for her children, should return them to her to ensure their physical and mental development can grow healthily and safely," it said. - Mkini