____________________________________________________________
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Lawyer M. Kula Segaran, who appeared for Indira, said later that a court order would be served on Khalid for him to appear before the court on September 12.
YAHOO! NEWS MALAYSIA
IGP to appear in court for ignoring order to arrest Muslim convert, find child
The Malaysian Insider
The Ipoh High Court today ordered the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid to explain why he refused to execute a May 30 order issued by the court to arrest Muslim convert Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah and locate his youngest child.
Judge Lee Swee Seng, in granting Muhammad Ridzuan’s ex-wife M. Indira Gandhi’s mandamus application to cite the IGP for contempt for his refusal to follow the court directive, said that she had proved there was a case for Khalid to answer.
The judge fixed hearing for September 12.
Lawyer M. Kula Segaran, who appeared for Indira, said later that a court order would be served on Khalid for him to appear before the court on September 12.
“The Attorney-General’s Chambers will appear for the IGP as Indira took action against Khalid in his capacity as the nation’s top cop,” said Kula Segaran, who is also Ipoh Barat MP.
…
Kula Segaran said this was a landmark ruling because the judge was bold in issuing a directive against the IGP.
https://my.news.yahoo.com/igp-faces-court-date-ignoring-court-order-arrest-082318421.html
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Hindu mother wins leave to force IGP to retrieve child from Muslim ex-spouse
The Malay Mail Online
KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — The Ipoh High Court said today it will hear M.Indira Gandhi’s bid to compel the Inspector-General of the Police (IGP) to arrest her Muslim convert ex-husband who had ran off with her youngest daughter and return the child, her lawyer said today.
Lawyer M. Kulasegaran confirmed the Ipoh High Court has fixed September 12 to hear his client’s application before deciding whether it will issue the mandamus order compelling the IGP to act.
“Today the court has given leave for a mandamus order to be issued with respect to compel the IGP to execute the warrant of arrest and to execute the recovery order issued by the court,” he said in a statement today
A mandamus is a form of court order issued to induce specific action from public institutions and bodies, such as the police.
https://my.news.yahoo.com/hindu-mother-wins-leave-force-igp-retrieve-child-101600401.html
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“The department (chambers) will apply to intervene in the proceeding at the Court of Appeal and the High Court and apply for a suspension of both orders by the civil and syariah courts on the police,” he said.
Malaysiakini
5:10PM Jun 26, 2014
New twist: AG seeks to suspend custody orders
Introducing a new twist to the interfaith custody disputes, attorney-general Abdul Gani is seeking to intervene and suspend the custody orders issued by the civil and syariah courts.
This move would also rescue inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, whose reluctance to enforce a court order to arrest a Muslim convert father could have led to him face contempt charges.
In a statement today, Gani said the intervention is necessary because the two cases have become a “public interest matter” which touches on “religious sensitivity” and has “upset public order”.
Apart from this, he added that it has also become a “constitutional issue.”
Gani said both cases involved constitutional issues regarding the jurisdiction of the syariah and civil courts especially on the interpretation of Article 121 (1A) of the federal constitution.
“The action to be an intervener at the Court of Appeal is taken to ensure there are no rising issues in both cases and that it could be resolved once and for all to ensure justice, peace and harmony.
“Besides this, for purpose of intervening in the proceedings in both cases, the AGC (Attorney-General’s Chambers) will consider making an application to the Federal Court for a final decision over the constitutional questions that arise from both cases,” he added.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/266931
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Malaysiakini
5:59PM Jun 26, 2014
‘Shocked’ lawyer questions AG’s agenda
The lawyer of M Indira Gandhi has questioned the “agenda” behind Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail’s decision to intervene in the two interfaith custody cases in Ipoh and Seremban.
…
He said that when Indira attempted to quash the conversion of her two children, made unilaterally by her ex-husband in 2010, the AG Chambers had “fought tooth and nail” to prevent the matter from being brought to the Federal Court.
“I will take advice from my client and we await the AG’s application excitedly,” he added.
Meanwhile, the lawyer of Deepa, Joanne Leong, said the intervention “was not necessary” as there have been many such cases that have been handled by the High Court before.
“These are not the only cases regarding this matter. There have been many cases before us and they have been decided by the civil courts,” she said.
“The rights of the non-Muslims are protected by the civil court,” she said.
Both Deepa and Indira have one of their children still remaining with their ex-husbands despite the court orders, as the police had refused to act on both cases due to the Syariah Court orders granting custody to the converted ex-husbands.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/266940
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Malaysiakini
9:18PM Jun 25, 2014
IGP: We’re ‘just monitoring’ Indira’s ex-husband
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has denied that police will arrest Indira Ghandi ex-husband for refusing a court order to return their child to her.
Instead, he said, Perak police are only searching for Riduan Abdullah @ S Pathmanathan to “monitor” him and “ensure the child is safe”.
The IGP said police are not budging from its position not to enforce either the civil or syariah court order, which sided with Indira’s ex-husband Riduan Abdullah, Bernama reports.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/266836
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Free Malaysia Today
‘You can run but you cannot hide, Ridzuan’
Lawyer M Kulasegaran says the Muslim convert must surrender since a warrant of arrest has been issued against him.
GEORGE TOWN: Muslim convert Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah cannot run away from a court order to hand over custody of his youngest daughter to his former wife M Indira Gandhi, lawyer M Kulasegaran said today.
“He should know how serious the case is. He cannot run away from contempt of court,” said Kulasegaran, who is Ipoh Barat MP.
He warned Ridzuan of dire consequences if he failed to comply with the court order to give custody of Prasana Diksa to Indira Gandhi.
Kulasegaran, who is also the counsel for Indira Gandhi, welcomed the police operation to trace the whereabouts of Ridzuan.
He said he heard from Indira Gandhi that the police have been combing several familiar places in Ipoh since last Sunday to locate Ridzuan.
…
However, he said the police should also comb Kota Bharu, where the father and daughter were reportedly staying.
He added that the police could also trace Ridzuan via his mobile phone.
He said Ridzuan had given a Kota Bharu address as his correspondence address in his case against Indira Gandhi.
“Everything indicates that he is in Kota Bharu. I hope the police are also looking for Ridzuan in his last known address in Kota Bharu,” he told FMT.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/06/24/you-can-run-but-you-cannot-hide-ridzuan/
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Malaysiakini
11:56AM Jun 24, 2014
IGP directs cops to arrest dad in custody dispute
Inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar has directed the Perak police to act on the Ipoh High Court order to arrest K Pathmanathan @ Muhd Ridhuan Abdullah, and return six-year-old Prasana Diksa to her mother.
Acryl told Malaysiakini that police are trying to find the husband and the child.
He denied that the husband had been arrested.
To questions on whether the police had obtained the IGP’s directive, Acryl said, “Yes, we are following the required regulations.”
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/266638
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23 June 2014
YAHOO! NEWS MALAYSIA
IGP defies court order in inter-faith child custody battle
The Malaysian Insider
Despite a court order to locate and return a child in an inter-faith custody battle, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (pic) maintained his earlier stand that police will not comply with it as there were two conflicting verdicts in the case.
The Inspector-General of Police said he will not act on the Ipoh court order instructing the police to reunite Prasana Diksa with her Hindu mother M. Indira Ghandi.
…
Khalid said that the matter is being looked into by Putrajaya and he wished not to comment further on the matter.
“The fact remains that there are two conflicting verdicts. The matter is being looked into at the moment. I am not saying that police will not take action. I just wish not to comment on it at the moment,” said Khalid in a press conference at a function at University Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam today.
Khalid stressed the same point even when pressed further by the media.
https://my.news.yahoo.com/igp-defies-court-order-inter-faith-child-custody-085444219.html
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19 June 2014
YAHOO! NEWS MALAYSIA
IGP served court order to locate child in inter-faith custody battle
The Malaysian Insider
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) was yesterday served with a court order directing police to locate and hand over the daughter of a kindergarten teacher entangled in an inter-faith child custody dispute.
Lawyer M. Kulasegaran (pic), representing M. Indira Gandhi, said the High Court order was served on Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to instruct his men to locate Indira’s ex-husband Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah in any part of the country and hand over the child, Prasana Diksa (Ummu Habibah), to the mother.
“This order speaks for itself and we hope the police will give effect to the court order immediately,” Kulasegaran told The Malaysian Insider.
Kulasegaran said copies of the order would also be served on the High Court sheriff in Ipoh to locate Ridzuan.
“The officer in charge of the Ipoh police district and the chief police officer of Perak will also be given copies of the order,” he added.
Indira obtained the order last week following Khalid’s statement that minors in inter-faith child custody cases should be placed in childcare centres to be fair to both parents.
https://my.news.yahoo.com/igp-served-court-order-locate-child-inter-faith-082756113.html
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An Islamic state is defined as a country where the primary basis for government is Islamic religious rule, the Shariah law. Article 3 of the Federal Constitution states that Islam is the religion of the federation, and it is used to support the claim that Malaysia is an Islamic state rather than secular.
However, in drafting the Constitution of Malaysia, the Reid Commission had this to say about Islam as an official religion, in its report in February 1957: “The observance of this principle shall not impose any disability on non-Muslim nationals professing and practising their own religion and shall not imply that the state is not a secular state.”
https://my.news.yahoo.com/look-history-books-malaysia-secular-state-065403693.html
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YAHOO! NEWS MALAYSIA
Look up the history books, Malaysia is a secular state
The Malaysian Insider – Mon, Jun 16, 2014
Here we go again. A Malaysian minister is insisting that Malaysia is not a secular state, and that is anchored in Islamist roots because there are the Malay rulers and state Islamic laws exist for Muslims.
That argument might have worked if it was just Malaya that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datul Seri Jamil Khir Baharom was referring to in a written reply in Parliament to Oscar Ling Chai Yew (DAP-Sibu) today.
But you know what, Mr Minister, we are now in Malaysia and perhaps you should go read your history books.
This country was formed in 1963, and brings together Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak. Singapore was told to leave in 1965.
Jamil Khir is not the first minister to believe that Malaysia is not a secular state and is possibly an Islamic nation because Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said as much years ago.
Another minister in the PM’s Department, Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz, said the same in 2012. And Malaysians will continue to hear this figment of their imagination because there are people who want to believe Malaysia is not secular.
The reality is, of course, different. Malaysia is a secular state where the rule of law is supreme. The Federal Constitution is the basic law, not the Quran.
This is a country which practises parliamentary democracy and is a constitutional monarchy. Anyone can become the prime minister or minister, and sometimes that is the reason behind inane pronouncements that we are not a secular state.
But you don’t have to go far to contradict the likes of Jamil Khir or expose his ignorance. Just open up the history books and refer to the words of our founding prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
The Malaysian Insider in October 2012 referred to several Tunku Abdul Rahman’s statements that Malaysia was a secular state, and not an Islamic one.
He was first recorded telling Parliament on May 1, 1958: “I would like to make it clear that this country is not an Islamic state as it is generally understood; we merely provided that Islam shall be the official religion of the state.”
The Star had also reported Tunku speaking on February 8, 1983 at a gathering to celebrate his 80th birthday, with the headline “Don’t make Malaysia an Islamic state – Tunku”, where he said “the country has a multiracial population with various beliefs. Malaysia must continue as a secular state with Islam as the official religion.”
https://my.news.yahoo.com/look-history-books-malaysia-secular-state-065403693.html
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Free Malaysia Today
‘There are no two legal systems’
All non-Muslim marriages are registered under civil law and any divorce or custody of the children must be decided by the High Court and not Syariah court.
PETALING JAYA: The Syariah court is not parallel to the civil legal system in this country because it only deals with certain aspects of Islamic law, Malaysia Tamil Sanggam chairman M Manogaran said today.
Manogaran, who is a lawyer, said the Syariah jurisdiction was subsidiary to the secular civil legal system and not equal.
“Syariah law caters for only certain aspects of Muslim issues.
“It now looks like we need to educate our Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar on the law,” he said.
He added that Khalid’s stand that children be placed in welfare homes pending resolution of disputes between parents in conversion cases was borne out of ignorance of the law.
“It is an abdication from responsibility and dereliction of duty as the highest ranking police officer.
“By making a stand, the IGP has shown disregard for the welfare of children which is of paramount importance in custody cases.
“Only the court can decide to place a child in custody with a third party.
“In deciding custody, the court will have to consider the welfare of the child under the Laws Reform and Divorce Act 1976,” he added.
Manogaran said all non-Muslim marriages were registered under civil law and any divorce or custody of the children must be decided by the High Court and not Syariah court.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/06/17/there-are-no-two-legal-systems/
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Malaysiakini
10:39AM Jun 16, 2014
Malaysia is not a secular state, gov’t says
PARLIAMENT The government has stressed that Malaysia is not a secular state due to the special position of Islam in the framework of the Federal Constitution.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom said so in a written answer to Oscar Ling Chai Yew (DAP-Sibu) in Parliament last week.
Jamil Khir also stressed that the constitution does not provide for the civil court to have jurisdiction over matters under the purview of the Syariah Court.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/265789
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Malaysiakini
4:19PM Jun 12, 2014
Ipoh court orders cops to find Indira’s daughter
The Ipoh High Court yesterday directed the police to retrieve kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi’s youngest daughter Prasana Diksa within 30 days – failing which they would have to answer the court why they did not comply with the order.
Indira Gandhi’s lawyer M Kulasegaran told Malaysiakini it was rare for the court to issue such order but he was glad that Justice Lee Swee Seng had allowed it.
“This is ensuing the court’s decision on May 30 this year,” he added.
“With this order, the police are required to find and bring back the girl. If they fail to do so, they have to state the reasons via an affidavit.
“With this, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar will have to comply with the order and not propose something else,” he said.
…
Yesterday’s court order follows the failure of Indira Gandhi’s former husband K Pathmanathan @ Mohd Ridhuan Abdullah to comply with the Ipoh High Court order, dated May 30, for Ridhuan to return the five-year-old girl by June 6.
Ridhuan has been found guilty by Justice Lee of contempt of court for not returning the child, an order the court was willing to revoke, should the father return Prasana Diksa, or her Muslim name Ummu Habibah, to Kulasegaran or the mother by that time.
On May 30, Justice Lee also ruled that the civil High Court is superior to the Syariah High Court and declared the Syariah High Court order granting custody of Prasana Diksa to Ridhuan as null and void.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/265522
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Malaysiakini
4:18PM May 30, 2014
Judge rules civil court superior to syariah
The Ipoh High Court has today ordered K Pathmanathan, who has since converted to Islam and ran away with his six year-old daughter, to return her within a week and hand her over to the mother, M Indira Gandhi.
Justice Lee Swee Seng, in reading out his two-and-a-half hour judgment, also found Pathmanathan guilty of contempt and said the civil court had higher jurisdiction compared to the Syariah courts.
He said this is due to the fact that the Syariah Court decision cannot bind a non-Muslim party in a marriage.
Justice Lee said the country is practicing secular law and the High Court has unlimited jurisdiction and is superior in nature to the Syariah Court.
…
“Following this, the court must surrender the child to Kula & Associates by noon next Friday,” he ruled.
…
It was reported last year that in a landmark decision, Justice Lee had overturned the conversion of all three of Pathmanathan’s, or his Muslim name Muhammad Riduan Abdullah’s, underage children to Islam when the court ruled that while he can convert, the children could not be converted without the consent of the other spouse.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/264307
…
The Star
Friday May 30, 2014 MYT 3:18:23 PM
Ex-husband of Indira Gandhi committed for contempt over custody case, arrest warrant issued
IPOH: Mohd Rizduan Abdullah, the Muslim-convert former husband of kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi, has been committed for contempt by the High Court here for failing to return their youngest child to the mother.
Justice Lee Swee Seng, who presided over contempt proceedings filed by Indira Gandhi to compel Mohd Ridzuan to hand over the child, also issued a warrant of arrest against the ex-husband.
“Execution of the warrant order is, however, suspended until the child, Prasana Diksa, is produced at the office of the mother’s solicitors, Kula & Associates.
“The respondent has until 12pm on June 6 to do so,” Justice Lee said in his close to three-hour judgment on Friday.
He also ordered the respondent, who was formerly known as K. Patmanathan, to pay RM15,000 as cost for proceedings and another RM5,000 as recovery cost.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/05/30/court-Indira-Gandhi/
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Malaysiakini
Judge: One-sided conversion against international norms
A parent may have the right to convert to another religion, however it does not give him or her the right to convert the underage child without the consent of the other spouse as this is against international convention.
High Court judge Lee Swee Seng in saying this cited the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw).
Lee said Article 18 of the CRC state parties (nations) shall ensure that both parents have common responsibilities in the upbringing and development of their children.
In his judgment, Lee also found that since the children did not recite the dua kalimah syahadah (the affirmation of faith) their conversion are deemed null and void.
The judge said this in his written judgment in his landmark decision on the M Indira Gandhi case on July 25 where the court declared the three children’s conversion to Islam as null and void and unconstitutional.
A copy of the 79-page written judgment is available in loyarburok.com.
Judge: One-sided conversion against international norms
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Malaysian Insider
Indira’s ex-husband to appeal conversion ruling
Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah, the former husband of M. Indira Gandhi, will file an appeal within the next 10 days against the Ipoh High Court’s decision that quashed his move to convert their three children to Islam.
Ridzuan’s lawyer Hatim Musa confirmed he received the instructions from his client who was not in court for the decision on Thursday.
“We will surely file an appeal because it involves the quashing of certificates for conversion to Islam. This also concerns public interest.
“My client was in Ipoh on the day of the High Court decision but could not make it on time,” said the lawyer, according to a Utusan Malaysia report.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/indiras-ex-husband-to-appeal-conversion-ruling
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Star
Saturday July 27, 2013 MYT 6:42:34 AM
Indira: I want my baby back
Longing to hold her: Indira, flanked by her daughter Tevi Darsiny and son Karan Dinish, looking at the baby picture of Prasana Diksa.
IPOH: M. Indira Gandhi, 40, has won the fight to have the conversion of her three children nullified – but she knows the battle is far from over.
The kindergarten teacher is relieved that her children can retain their Hindu faith after a four-year legal battle but foremost on her mind is her youngest child, who is still with the father.
Indira said Tevi Darsiny, 16, and Karan Dinish, 15, the two children staying with her, are happy that their identity crisis has finally come to an end.
However, Indira is pining for her younger daughter Prasana Diksa, who was only a year old when the father took her away in 2009.
…
The last time she saw Prasana Diksa was in the courtroom, when she was just a one-and-a-half-year-old baby.
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Malaysiakini
Following yesterday’s landmark decision in a conversion case, the Malaysian Bar has called on the various states to repeal legislation that allow unilateral conversions in their state enactments.
Bar president Christopher Leong welcomed the decision that declared unilateral religious conversion of minor children as unconstitutional.
“The unilateral conversion is an issue that has long plagued some families and caused social injustice,” he said today.
The Bar Council has been against the unilateral conversion of minors, stating that to do so would require an amendment to the Federal Constitution.
Leong had then argued that the meaning of the word “parent” in the Administration of Syariah Law Bill 2013 should be in line with the meaning in the constitution – that is to refer to both parents if they are still alive meaning permission from both of them was required.
Besides the Federal Territory that withdrew the Bill earlier this month, there are several states like Negri Sembilan which allows for unilateral conversion, following a case in Jelebu involving S Deepa, where her two children were converted by her husban
Repeal unilateral conversion law, Bar urges states
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ASKING FOR THE MOON…
Malaysiakini
A lawyer acting for M Indira Gandhi has urged the attorney-general not to appeal against yesterday’s landmark decision which saw the court declare her children’s conversion as unconstitutional.
Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran, who is one of the lawyers for the mother, said the non-filing of the appeal should be done in the interests of justice for the mother and her three children.
Kulasegaran (right) said when Indira Gandhi tried to bring questions of law to the Federal Court regarding her predicament, representatives of the AG’s Chambers objected, saying the matter should be ventilated at the High Court.
“Since the matter has already been decided yesterday by the Ipoh High Court, then the AG should not appeal the decision in the interests of justice. Indira Gandhi has suffered for so long.”
“Should the husband want to file an appeal, the AG should also support us in objecting to the appeal,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted today.
Indira Gandhi had named the state registrar of conversions, the Perak Religious Department director, the state and federal governments, the Education Ministry and her husband K Patmanathan (now known as Mohd Riduan Abdullah) as respondents.
Kula urges AG not to appeal child conversion decision
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A mother asks longingly, “Where is my daughter?”
“It has been five years and I am longing to be reunited with my daughter,” M. Indira Gandhi told The Malaysian Insider. “She was a baby. I do not know if she will recognise me now.”
Malaysia Chronicle
She won on religion but when will she see her child?
She stood against the government in court and the father of her own three children to win a landmark ruling yesterday.
Her battle was to stop him from changing their religion without her consent, a right that senior lawyers say is enshrined in the Federal Constitution, which says both parents of a minor must consent to any change.
Yesterday, she won. The High Court dismissed the three children’s conversion to Islam by one parent alone.
But despite her win, all she can think of now is her third and last child, whom she has not seen since her ex-husband took away the one-year-old baby in 2008. The High Court had in 2011 ruled that the mother was to have custody of her three children.
…
Speaking in Tamil by phone, she managed to contain her emotions as she said in a calm and composed voice, “My lawyers have filed contempt proceedings.”
Her other two children, Tevi Darsiny, 14, and Karan Dinish, 15, are with her. They will remain Hindus because of their mother’s long battle in the courts.
She won on religion but when will she see her child?
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Star
Friday July 26, 2013 MYT 7:27:28 AM
Indira Gandhi wins legal battle to keep children in her own religion
Happy now: M. Indira Gandhi smiling as she walks out of the Ipoh High Court with her mother R. Rengamah, 70, and lawyers after the court handed a landmark decision quashing the certificate of conversion of her three children who had been converted by their father.
IPOH: Kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi has won her four-year legal battle to keep her children in her own religion.
The High Court here, in a landmark decision, quashed the certificates of conversion of the three children who had been converted to Islam by their father in 2009.
A teary-eyed Indira Gandhi, 40, who was with a few family members outside the court, said: “I have been waiting for four years. This is a very touching moment for me and my children, and I can’t wait to tell them the good news.”
Indira Gandhi wins legal battle to keep children in her own religion
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MY VOICE FOR THE NATION: Court overturns conversion of minors to Islam http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com/2013/07/court-overturns-conversion-of-minors-to.html?spref=tw …—
Malaysian Insider
Hindu mother wins legal fight to also decide children’s faith after husband converts them to Islam
July 25, 2013
Latest Update: July 25, 2013 07:50 pm In a landmark decision, the Ipoh High court today quashed a man’s move to convert his three children to Islam, the latest episode in a combustible issue in Malaysia.
Judicial commissioner Lee Swee Seng said that while K. Patmanathan could convert, he did not have the right to deprive the children and their mothers of the freedom of religion.
He quashed the three certificates in converting the three minors, which were made without their mother M. Indira Gandhi’s knowledge.
Lee made this decision in allowing Patmanathan’s estranged wife, Indira’s judicial review application to quash the certificate issued by the Perak Religious Department.
Hindu mother wins legal fight to also decide children’s faith after husband converts them to Islam
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Malaysiakini
In a landmark decision today, the High Court sitting in Ipoh overturned the conversion of three minors, the children of M Indira Gandhi, whose father converted them to Islam without her knowledge.
…
In today’s decision, Justice Lee Swee Seng ruled that Indira’s children had not been converted as the ‘dua kalimah syahadah’ (pronouncement to embrace Islam) was not performed on them and therefore, such an act was unconstitutional.
“It is against the right of natural justice because the conversion was made without hearing from the mother or the children,” Justice Lee said.
He also said it was unlawful as syariah law in Perak states that the children must be present to utter the ‘syahadah’.
‘Conversion goes against UN convention’
The judge also ruled that the alleged conversion attempt went against the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
“This decision is no victory for anyone, but we have to learn to live in harmony,” Justice Lee said in reading his one-hour-40-minute judgment.
There were no orders made on costs. This decision of the civil court means that the three will remain as Hindus.
According to tweets from PusatRakyatLB, who was present when the judgment was read out, Justice Lee said the interpretation of the Federal Constitution says parents have equal rights as this would be consistent with the international norm.
…
Court overturns conversion of minors to Islam
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Malaysian Insider
Side Views
Rights of non-converted spouse must be upheld when spouse converts to Islam – Women’s Aid Organisation
Many objected strongly when the government tabled the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 late last month.
The bill allowed for the unilateral conversion to Islam of a child by one parent, presumably after that parent converts himself or herself to Islam. We are glad that these strong objections have caused the Bill to be withdrawn, for now.
…
Summary of article
But unilateral conversion of the child is not the only issue to worry about when one spouse converts to Islam. In WAO’s direct experience with women whose husbands convert opportunistically, other rights of the non-converted women have been eroded.
These include
1 The right to inherit from a family member who converts to Islam.
2 The right to have all issues relating to a civil law marriage settled according to civil laws and adjudicated only in civil courts.
3 The right to be informed of a spouse’s conversion to Islam.
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Irresponsible spouses have been allowed to misuse religion to shirk their moral and legal obligations. As a community of shared values we must not allow the unconverted spouse and other family members to face the injustices caused by this misuse.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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