Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali has defended the
unilateral conversion of children to Islam, citing a 2007 Federal Court
decision involving R. Subashini.
In an opinion article published by Malay daily Berita Harian,
Apandi urged those with legal experience to thoroughly study, understand and respect
what has been set in the Federal Constitution.
“It was in this context that I was shocked when I heard a
lawyer, who also heads a religious harmony bureau of a government component
party, say that the Federal Constitution, apart from institutions and
administrations tainted by racial and religious sentiment, was the cause of
racism in this country,” he said.
Apandi did not name the lawyer in question, who had
apparently said in a separate statement that his party’s stance was that the
term ‘parent’ in Article 12 (4) of the Federal Constitution, which is about
determining the religion of children, must be read as ‘mother and father’ when
in fact the Federal Court had clearly said in the Subashini case that it meant
mother or father.
Citing the same apex court verdict, the minister in charge
of Islamic affairs, Jamil Khir Baharom, had once said in a parliamentary
reply that unilateral conversion was legal and laws banning it would contravene
the Federal Constitution.
So far, Putrajaya has proposed amendments to the Law Reform
(Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories)
Act 1984 and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993.
These proposed amendments seek to ensure that issues such as
child support and custody would be determined by the court in which the
marriage had been registered, regardless if one spouse later embraces to another
religion.
On March 9, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department
Nancy Shukri had said that the Federal Government’s draft of the legal changes
had been ready since 2009, but added that the consultation process to obtain
feedback from the state Islamic councils was still on going.
The issue, however, is still before the Federal Court, which
is set to hear an appeal in Hindu mother M. Indira Gandhi’s case and to decide
whether the consent of both parents is required before a certificate of
conversion to Islam can be issued to a child born in a civil marriage.
Source -FMT-
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