ONE can DECIDE

KUALA LUMPUR: A parent will not be prevented from unilaterally converting his or her child or children to Islam without the consent of the other spouse as the Federal Constitution allows one parent or guardian to decide the religion of minors.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom (pix) said in a statement today that unilateral conversions will not be banned in the country as it would contradict the constitution.
"In the context of legislation and judiciary in Malaysia, the court, whether civil or Syariah, will uphold the principle of justice in ensuring the rights of the parties involved in the unilateral conversion are defended and protected.
"For that purpose, a law to ban unilateral conversion is against Article 12 (4) of the Federal Constitution which provides for the religion of a person under the age of 18 years to be decided by his parent or guardian," he said in a parliamentary written reply today.
This seems to be a reversal of the position taken by the Cabinet in April 2009 where it was decided that "a child must follow the religion practised by the parents at the time of marriage in the event one of them opts to convert", which meant that both parents must agree before a minor is converted.
In an immediate response, MCA Religious Harmony bureau chief Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said he was shocked by Jamil Khir's statement.
He said the MCA's position is that Article 12 (4) - on determining a child's religion should be read as "ibubapa" and not "ibu atau bapa."
He said Section 2(95) of Article 160(1) of the Eleventh Schedule of the Federal Constitution also reads that "words in the singular include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular.
He pointed out that in cases of a dispute, then the child's faith must remain as status quo or as that of the common religion of the parents during his/her birth as announced by the then de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz in April 2009.
"The Federal Constitution dated June 1, 1970 printed by the Government Printers and translated by the Attorney-General's Chambers clearly enshrines that the child's religion will be decided by the "ibu-bapa" which indicates plural (i.e. parents)," he said.
Ti questioned how over the years, in a matter that is so crucial, "ibu-bapa" in plural form was mysteriously and clandestinely reprinted, reinterpreted to be "ibu atau bapa" or singular without any lawmaker's or the Senate's notice.
When asked to elaborate on his answer, Jamil Khir brushed off questions saying the matter does not come under his purview.
"Ask the minister in charge," he said, referring to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri.
In January, MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had agreed in principle to consider amending the law to prevent children from being converted to another religion without the consent of both parents.
A ministerial committee comprising Subramaniam, Nazri Aziz, Nancy Shukri and Jamil Khir was formed to identify actions to be taken.
This included amendments to existing laws, namely 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.
However, in March, Nancy said the amendments to law being considered will only touch on the dissolution of civil marriages in civil court where one party has converted, and will not touch on unilateral conversions.
The Court of Appeal upheld on Dec 30 last year in a majority decision the conversions of kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi's three children to Islam that were undertaken by her Muslim convert ex-husband without her knowledge.