Malaysia rethinks controversial Islamic conversion bill
Outcry at bill allowing parent to convert child to religion without consent of partner
Malaysia has backed down over controversial plans to allow a parent to convert their child to Islam without their partner's consent.
The legislation, tabled in Parliament last week, drew widespread criticism from civil groups, the opposition and even members of the government.
Following the outcry, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday that the government would review the bill. "We will only retable the bill once we achieve a consensus," he said.
S. Barathidasan, secretary-general of the Malaysian Indians Progressive Association, welcomed the decision. "We hope the new bill will be one which reflects and fulfils the needs of all different groups in the country," he said. "It shows the government is beginning to listen to the people."
There were fears that the bill - if passed - would have had serious implications for children as well as couples in divorce cases involving child custody. If a parent converted to Islam, as well as his child, the non-Muslim parent would be denied custody.
"If a father converts a child to be a Muslim without consent of the mother, it clearly jeopardises and is prejudicial to her legal rights over the child in civil court … wherein the child is a Muslim, thus the affairs of the child are bound by sharia law," said lawyer Prakash Sampunathan.