KUALA LUMPUR: The government has no plans to amend any relevant laws that allow the unilateral conversion of minors into Islam, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.
Jamil Khir, who is in charge of Islamic affairs, said in a written Parliamentary reply that Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution provides that either the father, mother or guardian can determine the religion of a child who is below the age of 18.
He cited the case of Shamala Sathiyaseelam, V Dr. Jeya Ganesh, C. Mogarajah & Anor (2004) where the Federal Court determined that the consent of either parent suffices for conversion.
"Based on the judgement in this case, the agreement is that either party (parent) suffices in determining the religion of a child as the word used in Article 12(4) is 'parent or guardian', not 'parents or guardian'," he said.
He was replying to M. Kulasegaran (DAP - Ipoh Barat), who wanted to know when the government will amend relevant laws to implement a Cabinet decision in 2009 to ban the unilateral conversion of minors.
In an immediate response, Kulasegaran said Jamil Khir's reply contradicts the Cabinet decision and asked if the government had gone back on their commitment.
"It is most disappointing that after more than five years, the government has not fulfilled its promise to introduce the necessary changes in law to put into effect the 2009 Cabinet decision.
It will be totally unacceptable if the Cabinet has decided to make a U-turn," he said in a statement today.
He said the answer by Jamil Khir also contradicts a reply that he himself had given to Gobind Singh Deo (DAP - Puchong), who had asked a similar question in Parliament previously.
Kulasegaran said the reply given to his party colleague stated that the government is still studying a mechanism to solve the issues pertaining to unilateral conversion.
No comments:
Post a Comment