KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — The federal government should stand by the seven-year-old Cabinet decision stating that children cannot be converted to another religion by one parent alone, the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) said today.
Proham also highlighted that federal ministers had in 2009 decided together that the religious status of children in a civil marriage should remain unchanged after one parent chooses to embrace Islam.
“Proham urges the Cabinet to muster political will to uphold its own decision made on April 22, 2009, that there should be no unilateral conversion of children and that the children of parents where one parent chooses to convert to Islam must continue to be raised in the common religion at the time of the marriage,” the group said in a statement released by Ivy Josiah, Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari and Datuk A Vaithilingam.
Proham’s statement today comes after the recent Court of Appeal ruling in Hindu mother M Indira Gandhi’s challenge against her three children’s unilateral conversion by their Muslim convert father, as well as after a report today that the prime minister has principally agreed to look at legal amendments to prevent unilateral conversions..
Several ministers have also been appointed to discuss solutions for the child custody dispute in Indira’s case with the Attorney-General.
Today, Proham said it fully supports every individual’s absolute right to profess the religion of their choice, adding that the law must both offer redress to the non-converting spouse whose rights are taken away by the converting spouse as well as uphold the rights of affected family members.
But, it said the recent court ruling meant that Indira’s rights as a wife and mother under civil law came to nothing, while the rights of her children have also been overlooked, if not ignored.
While saying that a child’s best interest should be the central consideration in decisions involving their welfare, Proham also urged the authorities to not ignore Malaysia’s signing of two international conventions relating to women and children and which imposes an obligation to governments to ensure each parent has equal rights and responsibilities to raise their children.
Proham also cited the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961’s Section 5 where each parent is conferred equal guardianship rights over their children and Section 11 where the courts consider both parents’ wishes where applicable.
“A mother’s equal right to guardianship, to make decisions relating to long term and at times irreversible issues such as religion, welfare and education and must be fully upheld and protected, one parent’s consent cannot suffice,” Proham said.
“Another important consideration is that rights conferred to a woman under civil law in her legal position as a wife and mother cannot be erased and retreated in favour of another interest, non-retrogression is an essential principle in constitutional law,” it added.
It also said it agreed with the 2007 call by a women group coalition, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality, for the rights of women to be upheld as listed in their memorandum titled “Safeguard Rights of Wives and Children upon Conversion of Husbands to Islam”.
Among the seven points listed by JAG are for the non-Muslim women to be informed of their spouse’s conversion to Islam; to be granted equal right as a parent to decide on the children’s upbringing; and the right to have all issues arising from the civil law marriage to be settled according to civil laws and decided only in the civil courts.
