A Hindu Mother’s Victory : Malaysia withdraws bill allowing unilateral conversion

Ashadh Shuklapaksha 3, Kaliyug Varsha 5115

Malaysia on Monday withdrew a controversial bill that allows one parent to give consent for the conversion of a child, following an outcry over two minor ethnic Indian Hindu children embracing Islam without their mother’s permission.

The controversial Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 was withdrawn from parliament following a motion by Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Jamil Khir Baharom.

Mr. Baharom moved the motion to withdraw the bill for its second third and fourth reading and from being debated on.

The bill was tabled for the first reading in Parliament on June 26.

On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said the bill would be withdrawn until an agreement was reached with all stakeholders.

He said the Cabinet decided to withdraw the bill from the current parliament meeting following concerns from various quarters, including the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional’s component party members. The component party include Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

The move comes after two ethnic Indian Hindu children were converted to Islam without their mother’s consent, triggering protests from the country’s Bar Council which called unilateral conversion as illegal.

According to a media report, ethnic Indian Hindu woman identified as S. Deepa (29) from Jelebu, discovered that her husband, who left her 16 months ago, had converted their two children into Islam without her knowledge.

Multi ethnic Malaysia’s 28 million population includes 25 per cent ethnic Chinese who are mostly Buddhists or Christians and eight per cent ethnic Indians who are mostly Hindus.

Source : The Hindu

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Two Hindu children converted to Islam in Malaysia

June 26, 2013

This is the plight of Hindus in Muslim majority country of Malaysia. Now where are the pseudo-secularists of India who always express motherly concern about Bangladeshi infiltrators, Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Kashmiri Separatists ? Will the Indian Government raise its voice against conversion of Hindus to Islam in Malaysia ? – Editor

Quala Lumpur (Malaysia) : Two minor ethnic Indian Hindu children in Malaysia have been converted to Islam without their mother's consent, triggering protests from the country's Bar Council which called unilateral conversion as illegal. According to a media report, ethnic Indian Hindu woman identified as S Deepa, 29, from Jelebu, discovered that her husband, who left her 16 months ago, had converted their two children without her knowledge.

The husband alleged that Deepa had been having an affair with another man and could not take care of their children.

Citing the Federal Constitution, Bar Council president Christopher Leong said one parent did not have the right to convert the children without the other's knowledge.

"The unilateral conversion of minors to any religion by a parent, without the knowledge or consent of the non-converting parent, creates social injustice, violates the rights of the non-converting parent, and is contrary to our constitutional scheme," he said in a statement.

Leong said the Constitution ensured that no one was required to take part in any ceremony or worship any other religion than their own.

He said the Constitution determined that a minor's (under 18 years) religion was to be decided by both parents, in cases where they were both alive.

"Accordingly, unilateral religious conversions of any minor children in breach of this are unconstitutional," he said.

Leong cited a Cabinet directive by then Law Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz who said that the children of an estranged couple were to remain in the religion of their parents at the point of their marriage.

Muslim majority Malaysia has a mixed population including ethnic Indians and ethnic Chinese.

Source: Hindustan Times