Fahri Azzat said the Malaysian public has to wait for the decision of the legal challenge brought by kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi, who is seeking to nullify the conversion certificates of her three childen.
“The Perlis enactment will be unconstitutional if the apex court rules in favour of Indira. The state law will be legal if her appeal is dismissed,” he told FMT.
He said the legal principles established by the Federal Court will be binding on the states.
The Federal Court has reserved judgment.
Fahri said this in response to the Perlis legislative assembly approving the amendment by a 13-1 majority. One non-Muslim assemblyman abstained as he was not agreeable to the amendment on conversion.
Fahri, who is in Indira’s legal team in the Federal Court, said the federal government’s proposal to table amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill last month to stop conversion by a parent was secondary.
“We do not know whether the Bill will be passed in the present form or will be withdrawn,” he said.
At the Federal Court on Nov 30, the federal and Perak governments took the common position in Indira’s case that the consent of only one parent is required to make minor children Muslim.
Senior Federal Counsel Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari said the government adopted the 2007 Federal Court ruling in the case of Subashini Rajasingam v Saravanan Thangathoray that one of the parents can convert the children.
Arik told the court the conversion of Indira’s children is also in accordance with Article 12 (4) of the Federal Constitution that the religion of a minor below 18 could be decided by a parent.
However, Indira’s lawyers have argued the 2007 ruling was an obiter dictum, or passing remark.
The legal fraternity has argued that the 11th Schedule of the Constitution provides that in interpreting the supreme law of the land, “words in the singular include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular”.
Indira’s legal team have submitted that the Perak religious authorities did not comply with procedures in the state enactment in allowing Indira’s ex-husband Muhammad Riduan Abdullah to convert the chidren.
As such their conversion certificates are null and void.
Indira came to the Federal Court as the Court of Appeal ruled that her matter could only be decided by the shariah court.
The Federal Court has reserved judgment.