‘Ban goes against rules’

Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom

KUALA LUMPUR: Any proposed law to ban unilateral conversions in Malaysia will contravene the Federal Constitution, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom (pic).

“In the context of Malaysian law, whether civil or Syariah, we want to uphold justice and ensure that the rights of all parties are maintained and upheld.

“In that manner, any law to ban unilateral conversions is against Clause 4 of Article 12 in the Federal Constitution, which allows for conversion of a person under 18 years old by either the child’s mother or father,” he said in a written reply to M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) in Parliament yesterday.

Kulasegaran had asked when the laws banning unilateral conversions would be drawn up.

He also asked about the Government’s steps to preserve the sanctity of Islam after unilateral conversions of minors by those with personal agendas had brought about a negative perception of Islam.

To that, Jamil Khir said while the Government continued to uphold Islam as the official religion in line with the provisions under the Federal Constitution, it was also aware of the multiple cases of unilateral conversions of minors.

In the case of R. Subashini and T. Saravanan, the Federal Court ruled that based on Clause 4 of Article 12 in the Federal Constitution, any one parent had the right to convert a child, he said.

In a landmark judgment in 2007, the Federal Court ruled that the conversion of Subashini’s older son by her Muslim convert ex-husband Saravanan, albeit under the Sela­ngor Enactment, did not violate the Federal Constitution.