Perlis Islamic Religious Dept negligent for allowing unilateral conversion, says MCCBCHST

 

PETALING JAYA: It is negligent of the Perlis Islamic Religious Department and the state mufti to allow the three children of Loh Siew Hong to be converted to Islam without her consent, says the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism (MCCBCHST).

Responding to videos posted by Perlis mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, the MCCBHST said a remark made by the mufti that he would ensure the girls remain Muslims is against the law.

“The MCCBCHST is alarmed at the reluctance of the institutions and authorities to comply with the High Court Kuala Lumpur order giving sole custody over three children of the marriage to the mother Loh Siew Hong and ordering police to locate the children.

“Facts show that in July 2020, the estranged husband of Loh Siew Hong had taken the children away and purportedly converted them to Islam.

“This was done without informing or getting the consent of the mother Loh Siew Hong.

“In a video, the mufti is seen telling the girls 'he would work towards ensuring the girls remained Muslims'.

“Here the Perlis mufti must understand that he is subject to the Constitution and the law.

“The Federal Court had ruled on Jan 29, 2018, that a single parent cannot convert a child of the marriage.

“This being the judgment of the country’s apex court, the mufti’s 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 of Malaysia and all religions are subject to it,” said MCCBCHST in a statement.

MCCBCHST added that Mohd Asri’s remarks claiming that the children were converted to Islam by the father as they did not know where their mother proved negligence on the Perlis Islamic Religious Department’s part.

“The mufti sadly applied the wrong principle when he said 'if the child is already ‘mumayyiz’ or 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.

MCCBCHST called for the Perlis Religious Department to cooperate with Loh and hand over the custody of the children to her, 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," the group said.

Loh, 35, was only recently reunited with her children, 14-year-old twin daughters and a 10-year-old son, who had been taken away and hidden from her by her ex-husband and subsequently a third party since 2019.

She met them for the first time in three years at a police station in Perlis but the children were initially reluctant to follow her home because they were afraid their father might harm himself in prison if they did.

Despite having legal sole custody of the children, Loh, a chef in Genting Highlands, decided to let them be under the care of the Perlis Welfare Department until her habeas corpus application is heard at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb 21.

Loh’s ex-husband, Nagashwaran Muniandy, had converted to Islam and had also unilaterally converted the children.

He was arrested for a drug-related offence and is now in jail in Kelantan. - Star