GEORGE TOWN – Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh Deo has called on the Perlis religious authorities to reverse the conversion of three young children to Islam, which had allegedly occurred two years ago without the presence of their mother, Loh Siew Hong.
The DAP lawmaker and lawyer explained in a statement that the entire process has run afoul of the law, citing a 2018 Federal Court ruling on the Indira Gandhi case.
“It is based on the precedence set by the Indira Gandhi case in the highest court of the land, whereby for any conversion to occur while the person was a minor, it is essential that the consent of both parents is obtained,” cited Ramkarpal.
He said since the apex court had already decided on the matter, the conversion of Loh’s children should be reversed without any further need to go to court.
“The state religious department may have been under the wrong impression that this was a case in which the mother of the children was not around.
“But it is clear now that not only did she not consent to the conversion, she also obtained sole custody and guardianship of the children from the high court in Kuala Lumpur last year.”
Loh, an ex-hotelier, is currently embroiled in a custody battle over her three children against the Perlis religious authorities.
At the heart of the issue is the plight of her three children – a pair of twin daughters aged 14 and their younger brother aged 10 – who have been living under the care of the religious authorities since 2019 after their parents divorced.
At the time, Loh was recuperating from the trauma of what she alleged to have been an abusive marriage and the subsequent split.
Her husband, who converted to Islam and had allegedly unilaterally converted the children, is serving time for a narcotics charge at a prison in Kelantan.
Since late 2019, Loh has been fighting a custody battle with the authorities despite having been armed with a high court order, which pronounces her as her children’s legal guardian.
Meanwhile, Loh’s lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind said that his client was contesting the conversion on grounds that she was never consulted about it.
Shamsher said that he has dispatched legal notices to the converts division of the Penang, Kedah, and Perlis religious councils, seeking to challenge the conversion.
Shamsher said if the councils had no evidence of consent, the registrars should reverse the conversion of the three siblings.
Disrespecting the children’s mother tarnishes Islam’s image: Hanipa
Meanwhile, Serdang MP Mohamed Hanipa Maidin told The Vibes that ignoring a high court order to reunite Loh with her siblings was a move that was uncalled for by the religious authorities.
Despite the fact that the children were apparently unwilling to be reunited with their mother for reasons best known to them, Hanipa said that the Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin should have advised them that she is their mother at the end of the day.
“With due respect, the mufti should have advised them that even if they have embraced Islam, they should respect their mother, who gave birth to them. That is the teaching of Islam,” said Hanipa.
“In my view, what is happening now does not portray a good image of Islam.”
Balik Pulau MP Datuk Muhammed Bakhtiar Wan Chik said that due legal process needs to be respected.
Most importantly, the mother’s emotional attachment to her children needs to be considered by all parties, he added. – The Vibes, February 17, 2022
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