Call on the Prime Minister to address the issue of inter religious custody problems resulting from conversions to Islam
Media Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for
Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on Sunday, June 9, 2013
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Call
on the Prime Minister to address the issue of inter religious custody problems resulting from
conversions to Islam
The plight faced by S Deepa of Seremban as reported in the media has
again shown the urgency for the government to resolve the issue of religion of
children when one of the parents chooses to convert to a different religion.
Deepa, from Negeri Sembilan, alleged that her children have been
converted into Islam without her knowledge by her husband on April 2013.
She said her lorry-driver husband N Viran, 30, left her and her children
16 months ago and never supported her or their children financially.
Deepa told the media that on April 4, this year, she to the kindergarten
to pick up her son, Mithran, 5. He was not there and she was told that her
husband had taken him away.
Coincidently she went to Pusat Dakwah Islamiah Negeri Sembilan in Paroi
to collect the confirmation letter of Viran’s conversion into Islam to submit
to the court for a divorce.
She was shocked to see Mithran and her eight year old daughter, Sharmila,
with her husband at Pusat Dakwah Islamiah Negeri Sembilan.
An argument broke out between her husband and her when she found out that
he had converted Sharmila and Mithran without her knowledge and permission.
Deepa is not the first and only person to suffer such pain and plight.
M Indira Gandhi of Ipoh too faced such similar pain and plight when her husband
converted to Islam and subsequently converted their three children before
claiming custody over them at the Syariah court.
I have been helping her in her legal battle to obtain custody of her
three children and also to declare the conversion of the three children , who
are all minors, to Islam is illegal.
To date, we have succeeded in
getting custody of the three children. Notwithstanding successfully getting
custody of the three children in the civil court some 4 years ago, her husband Pathamanathan has refused to
return the last child and Indira Gandhi has not seen this child since she was
taken some 4 years ago.
The other two children are with I.Gandhi. The husband still maintains
that only the Syariah Court has jurisdiction over the conversion and thus
ousting the Malaysian civil courts.
I have raised the issue of inter religious custody battle in Parliament
and I wish to remind the government that there must be no further delay in
passing legislation to ban conversations to Islam as a means to gain custody of
children.
In fact, in April 2009, the Cabinet had decided that children remain in
the religion of the parents at the time of marriage, should one of them decide
to convert to Islam. It also decided that outstanding issues in a marriage must
be settled before conversion to avoid children from becoming the victims.
But till today, the government has
failed to table amendments to three laws — the Islamic Family (Federal
Territories) Law 1984, Administration of Islamic (Federal Territories) Law
1993, and Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976.
Neither has the government given any indication of when the laws will be
amended.
It has to be noted that Indonesia which has the biggest Muslim population
in the world has no problems relating to conversion cases. We have much to
learn from the Indonesia authorities!
There must be no further delay and I call on the Prime Minister to
address the issue of inter religious custody problems resulting from conversions to Islam.
.
Comments
Post a Comment