He said all the relevant parties involved have agreed on the need for a complete solution.
He was confident that “a permanent solution” was possible, Malaysiakini reported.
Subramaniam and five other ministers in a Cabinet team are seeking a resolution of the legal issues that arise when one partner in a civil marriage converts to Islam.
The team was formed after the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court decision to quash the conversion of kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi’s three children by her former husband, K Pathmanaban, who converted to Islam, taking the name Mohd Ridhuan Abdullah, and unilaterally converted the children. He also took their youngest daughter, then 11 months old, with him.
The appeal court decided that conversions could only be decided by the syariah courts, sparking outrage among some lawyers and politicians.
The case has pitted the civil courts against the syariah courts for primacy in the legal system and jurisdiction over civil marriages.
Speaking to reporters at Batu Caves, where he attended the Thaipusam festival, Subramaniam said: “Everybody is on the same page – the prime minister, the cabinet, our committee, and the attorney-general – I believe that we will be able to come to some solution, a permanent solution, to this issue,” he said.
He said he had met the Attorney-General, Mohamed Apandi Ali, and given him a summary of the legal issues.
“I think all of us have agreed that there is a need for an amendment of the laws, so we will be taking it along that way – which are the laws we can amend with ease, so that we can give holistic, implementable solutions,” he was quoted as saying.
He said he had given Apandi the views of the MIC, Gerakan and MCA on the issue, so that he would know what to expect when he meets the cabinet committee, which comprises Subramaniam, who is health minister; tourism minister Nazri Abdul Aziz who was de facto law minister in 2008; the current legal affairs minister Nancy Shukri; transport minister Liow Tiong Lai, who is MCA president; Islamic affairs minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Jamil Khir Baharom; and cabinet minister Joseph Kurup, who is president of the United Sabah People’s Party.