Unilateral conversion laws still pending

KUALA LUMPUR: Seven years after the Cabinet's decision to bar unilateral conversions of children, the amendments to the laws are yet to be seen.
One of the main reasons for this is that the ongoing consultations on the draft amendments to the Law Reform Act (Marriage & Divorce) have caused the delay in tabling it in Parliament.
"The draft is ready; it is not like the government has not acted on it," Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri (pix) told the Dewan Rakyat today.
"But the Islamic Affairs division in PM's department is still conducting consultations on Syariah Law aspects," she said in response to Kasthuriraani Patto (DAP-Batu Kawan).
Kasthuriraani had asked the Prime Minister to state whether the government intends to stop unilateral conversions for minors as it is against the Federal Constitution and the initiatives by the Attorney-General to amend the Law Reform Act, which involves unilateral conversions.
Nancy, who was replying to 11 questions, said the government is aware of the concerns of the people on three aspects of this issue – civil marriage status, child custody and unilateral conversion of minors.
"We don't want people to misuse religion to achieve their own intentions. This is a shared responsibility in the Dewan," she said.
She added there is no decision about forming a parliamentary committee to look into the unilateral conversion issue and child custody matters as the government wants to conclude the consultations first.
Later when approached outside the Dewan, Nancy said the people must remember that this is not just for one religion but for all religions.
She said draft amendments involve Section 51 of the Law Reform Act (Marriages & Divorce), which provides for the dissolution of a civil marriage under civil law even upon conversion instead of taking it to the syariah court.
"They should not use Syariah law as a platform for them to escape responsibility," she said.
Nancy said the consultations are with the state religious bodies and there are some states that have not given their feedback on the
amendments.
She admitted that there is no uniformity among the states on laws governing conversion, where some say that it is the responsibility of both parents while others give the right to either one of the parents.
"If possible we want to have it standardised. But it depends on the states. We cannot control any state's Islamic laws. Hence the consultation because the amendments will affect state laws as well," Nancy said.