FEBRUARY 6 — The G25 welcomes the announcement by the Mentri Besar of Negri Sembilan, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, as reported in the media,  that the state will amend the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Negri Sembilan) Enactment 2003. The amendment will make it mandatory for any married person wanting to embrace Islam to first divorce his or her spouse if the spouse remains a non-Muslim.

The amendment also requires the newly converted person to make a statutory declaration that he or she is now a Muslim. The Mentri Besar explained that the move was to safeguard the sanctity of the religion.

The G25 congratulates the Negri Sembilan state government for its wisdom in introducing this initiative, which will avoid doing an injustice to the non-converting spouse as has happened in a number of recent cases. It will also avoid tugs-of-war over rights of burial where the deceased had converted to Islam without the knowledge of his or her family.

This amendment will rightly show the just and compassionate side of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims in this country. 

We call on the other state governments  to introduce  a similar amendment to their respective Administration of the Religion of Islam enactments. 

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.