A bill to amend Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution was tabled last month for its first reading in Parliament. The amended law, if passed in the March sitting, will require the consent of both parents for the conversion of minor children to Islam.
Under the proposed amendment, any child will remain in the religion practised by the parents at the time the marriage was registered, and may choose his or her own religion upon reaching the age of 18.
Supporting the move, the Association of Churches of Sarawak, issued a statement that Sarawak’s laws should be amended to reflect the new constitutional changes.
“I fully support the call from the Association of Churches for the Sarawak government to amend the Majlis Islam Sarawak Ordinance to be in tandem with the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act once amended, and to bring it in line with the constitutional guarantees which is the entitlement of every citizen of Malaysia,” said Baru in a statement today.
Baru, who is Ba’Kelalan assemblyman, said the conversion of such children without the knowledge or consent by any non-converted parent violated the constitutional rights of the parent and the rights of the child under the United Nations’ convention on the rights of the child, to which Malaysia is a signatory.
“These conversions have caused immense suffering and expense to many families in the past and it is hoped that the amendments to the law will prevent such cases (from occurring) in the future,” he said.
Baru said the legal language in Sarawak regarding conversions was ambiguous.
In Sarawak, the Majlis Islam Sarawak Ordinance 2001 allowed the conversion into Islam of a person who has not reached the age of 18 “if his parent or guardian consents to the conversion”.
“I believe this provision is unconstitutional as explained above, and the move by the Perlis assembly to introduce such a provision into their state enactment is incorrect, unwise and regressive,” he said.
Last Thursday, the Perlis assembly amended its Administration of Religion of Islam Enactment 2006 to allow children in the state to be converted to Islam with the consent of one parent.
The Muslim Lawyers Association has also opposed any amendments to Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution saying it would be “unconstitutional”.
The lawyers argue that the Federal Court had previously interpreted the word “parent” in Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution to mean “a parent or guardian”, and not both parents.
Article 124(A) currently states “the religion of a person under the age of 18 years shall be decided by his parent or guardian”.