Loh’s lawyer had said yesterday the children’s conversion will be challenged through a judicial review.
In a video message uploaded on Facebook, Asri said Loh’s 14-year-old twin daughters and 10-year-old son were “wholly immersed” in the Islamic faith and wanted to remain Muslims.
“We were told earlier that if the children returned to Loh, they could remain as Muslims. She did not mind so long she could spend time with them.
“Then, in the next few days, she seems keen on changing their faith.
” I am not denying that the children want their mother, but this does not mean they want to revert to Hinduism.”
Asri said the Muslims in this case had never attempted to split Loh with her children. He said a religious teacher named Nazirah, who was caring for her children in Loh’s absence, had first reached out to her on the pretext of getting her reunited with her children.
“We are not so concerned about custody, but as Muslims, we must ensure these children remain Muslims of their free will. If they give up on Islam on their own or feel cheated by their father who converted them, then that is out of our control,” he said.
He said he did not want to see a case where a parent promised to keep their children as Muslims, only to flee to a foreign country, or “watered down” their children’s faith.
He compared the case to Natrah, or Maria Bertogh, a Dutch woman raised by a Muslim family, who was returned to her biological parents when she was 13 and left for the Netherlands shortly after. A racial riot erupted in Singapore in 1950 by those who were unhappy that Natrah had been handed back to her biological parents. A Singaporean archive website showed that the riots left 18 dead and 173 injured
Last week, Asri confirmed that the Perlis religious authorities had registered the three children as Muslims without Loh being present.
The Federal Court previously ruled that the conversion of any child under 18 to another religion needed the consent of both parents.
Asri said his remarks about Loh’s children not wanting her back were based on the series of events on the day she reunited with her children.
“The police had brought the children to the police station to be surrendered to her. So why didn’t she recover her children there?
“It is because her children rebelled and did not want to follow her back. Loh then agreed to have them placed under the care of the social welfare department (JKM), with an order from the Kangar court until March 9. Loh knows this,” he said.
He said the perception that Islamic authorities had blocked her from meeting her children at a JKM safe house was false, as it was out of the jurisdiction of the Islamic administration.