GEORGE TOWN – Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy has taken Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Idris Ahmad to task over his reported reference to a Federal Court ruling on religious conversions as an “interpretation” of the federal constitution.
Yesterday, Idris, who is in charge of the Islamic affairs portfolio, reportedly told the Dewan Rakyat that when it comes to matters related to the administration of Islam, such as conversion of minors, it in the hands of the state to enact laws as they wish.
He reportedly said that this is a constitutional right that ought to be respected.
“Federal court ruling is not an ‘interpretation’, but a constitutional decision,” Ramasamy said in a Facebook post this morning.
“I urge the prime minister to take immediate action by firing Idris and replacing him with someone more knowledgeable about the laws in the country, especially when state laws are in contradiction with federal laws.”
He added that the federal government, especially the attorney-general, should direct all state legal departments to ensure state laws conform to federal laws, rather than remain a “silent spectator” of events in the country.
Idris had reportedly made the remark in response to Sungai Buloh MP R Sivarasa question on what the government was doing to standardise shariah laws in states with regard to unilateral conversions, based on the ruling by the Federal Court.
Idris said that while the Federal Court has interpreted Article 12(4) to mean that both parents’ consent was needed in a child’s religious conversion, the most important thing here is the child’s welfare.
He added that religion is an important aspect of welfare and the child’s best interest must be considered by all.
Ramasamy claimed that Idris’ response was simply a diversionary tactic to skirt the matter of the implications of conflict between federal and state laws.
“It is beyond belief that Idris as a federal minister would call the federal court’s ruling on the consent of both parents as mere ‘interpretation’,” he said.
“If this (is) so, maybe he should be telling the public what steps the government is taking to nullify the federal court ruling in the case of the Indira Gandhi (issue) in 2018,” he said, referring to the decision that the unilateral conversion of her children without her consent was invalid.
On February 21 this year, single mother Loh Siew Hong was granted a writ of habeas corpus by the Kuala Lumpur High Court against the unlawful detention of her three children.
Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah agreed with Loh’s lawyer that respondents in the matter had gone against court orders issued in 2019 and 2021 that grant her full custody of the children.
Loh had lost contact with the three children while undergoing treatment for injuries purportedly stemming from an abusive marriage with her ex-husband, Nagashwaran Muniandy.
It was during this void that Nagashwaran, who is now imprisoned for narcotics-related charges, is said to have unilaterally converted his children into Islam, following his own conversion without Loh’s knowledge. – The Vibes, March 18, 2022
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