Never Ending Malaysian Story

MM Online - Despite Indira ruling, unilateral child conversions still alive in Malaysia (extracts):

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 ― In January this year, the Federal Court delivered a landmark ruling overturning the unilateral conversion of Hindu mother M. Indira Gandhi’s three children into Islam, igniting hope in many who faced the same predicament.

About three months later, the hope was rekindled after Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) victory in the 14th general election.

But the reality on the ground is more sobering.

Yet another non-Muslim parent takes up a fight in court today to nullify the conversion of his two children into Islam, which was done without his consent under allegedly dubious circumstances.

Shah Alam-based ethnic Chinese businessman Tan, 46, (not real name), decided to amicably split with his wife of nine years in late 2015 after two to three years of a tumultuous relationship.

The couple has two children ― a daughter who was then eight years old and a son aged four.

“She wanted to divorce for a very shocking reason. She got her calling from Allah to be a Muslim,” said the Terengganu-born Buddhist, who sometimes lapsed into the East Coast accent when speaking in Malay.

“I asked her out of curiosity: ‘Would it be any different if I were to convert as well? Would we stay married?’ She said ‘no’ So it was not about religion,” Tan told Malay Mail, explaining that he had custody of their children initially.

The planned divorce quickly turned sour. Tan said his estranged wife started adding more and more terms into their divorce settlement, such as allowing the children to be converted into Islam.

Tan disagreed, and it was around this point that he said she became more callous in her attempt to gain custody.

Malay Mail sighted a copy of the police report lodged by Tan’s wife dated February 2016, when she alleged that Tan’s maid had molested the son since she was no longer home.

Her allegation was refuted by the Social Welfare Office Shah Alam in a letter dated a month later. It then discharged the son back to Tan.

In a separate police report lodged by Tan and a subsequent medical report sighted by Malay Maildated December 2016, he complained that his wife had physically attacked him repeatedly with a fork when he was fetching the children for his turn at custody.

She pleaded guilty over the assault in the Petaling Jaya Magistrates’ Court yesterday and was fined RM1,000 under Section 352A of the Penal Code that handles criminal force by a spouse.

Kids converted outside registrar’s jurisdiction

Tan finally filed a divorce petition in the Shah Alam High Court in May 2016. By this time, she was a Muslim for almost half a year

In April this year, the court granted sole guardianship, custody, care and control to the ex-wife, but scant explanation was given for the decision. The case is currently pending an appeal in the Court of Appeal.

But it was only when she filed her affidavit for the divorce that Tan found out his two children had been converted into Islam by the Federal Territories Registrar of Muslim Converts without his agreement.

The unfortunate scene is that some unscrupulous non-Muslim parents have been exploiting the religion of Islam to 'snooker' (put the other party behind the 8th ball - to disadvantage) the other parents.

In Malaysia, by converting to Islam (and I suspect, minus their sincere spiritual conversion), they gain an upper hand in the custody of the children, often with the court NOT explaining why the converted Muslim parent should be the custodian.

Whatever courts were involved, whether civil or syariah, the Federal Court's landmark ruling against unilateral conversion must be adhered to, or the subordinate courts and the naughty parent have to face the judicial penalty of contempt of the Federal Court.