KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 ― Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom was right, Malay rights group Perkasa said today in defending the minister’s claim that the consent of either parent is all that is necessary to convert a minor to Islam.
Despite the remark being in direct opposition of the 2009 Cabinet ruling against unilateral child conversion, Perkasa claimed that the ruling was to be blamed for child custody battles involving a Muslim and non-Muslim parents of late.
“In order to solve the mess, it was right,” Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali told reporters here.
“Because, if you need both to just convert, that is why these problems arise. If you need only one parent, there would be no dispute.”
Ibrahim said, bilateral conversion would only work if both parents decide to embrace Islam.
If only one of them converts, problems would arise as the parents would fight over the children, he said.
The minister’s response today contravenes the Cabinet decision made in 2009 specifically to prevent the complicated custody rows involving cases of unilateral child conversions to Islam.
The ruling itself is not legally binding or enforceable, but legal experts have pointed out that it was a reaffirmation of the Federal Constitution’s position on the matter.
They argue that the word “parent” as it appears in the document must be read in the plural sense, rather than the singular that allows the practice of unilateral conversions.
These experts further contend that no additional legislation were needed, merely the adherence to the correct interpretation of the relevant section of the country’s supreme law.
But despite the Cabinet decision, unilateral child conversions continue to take place on a regular basis.
The issue most commonly manifests itself in the form of a legal limbo surrounding the interfaith custody battles, as one non-Muslim spouse attempts to gain custody via the civil courts while the Muslim half — almost always the husband — tries the same via the Shariah route.
