Fathers' rights association wants equal custody of children in Malaysian divorce cases
Malcolm Fernandez said it is not fair that mothers always get full custody of the children in a divorce. ― Pictures by Shafwan Zaidon
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — A newly-formed fathers’ rights advocacy group wants the current Law Reform (Divorce & Marriage) Act 1976 to be well, reformed to be more in keeping with the times.
Father’s Rights Association of Malaysia (FRAM) co-founders Malcolm Fernandez and Sheikh Faleigh Sheikh Mansor said the law has been against fathers from the get go as in a divorce, mothers are automatically granted sole custody of the children.
“The norm in Malaysia in divorce cases is that the mother is granted sole custody of the child from the very beginning, with the father usually ending up with only alternate weekends with his kids at best, or a 15-minute supervised video call a week in worse cases,” said Fernandez, a lawyer.
“I have seen good, loving and responsible fathers sharing that when they get alternate weekends, they treat it as if they have hit the jackpot. That is not right, it should not be the case. FRAM is saying no to this.
“If a father wants to play an important role and be with his child, added with the fact that a father is willing to fight for his share of equal custody in court, he should be allowed to do so.”
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — A newly-formed fathers’ rights advocacy group wants the current Law Reform (Divorce & Marriage) Act 1976 to be well, reformed to be more in keeping with the times.
Father’s Rights Association of Malaysia (FRAM) co-founders Malcolm Fernandez and Sheikh Faleigh Sheikh Mansor said the law has been against fathers from the get go as in a divorce, mothers are automatically granted sole custody of the children.
“The norm in Malaysia in divorce cases is that the mother is granted sole custody of the child from the very beginning, with the father usually ending up with only alternate weekends with his kids at best, or a 15-minute supervised video call a week in worse cases,” said Fernandez, a lawyer.
“I have seen good, loving and responsible fathers sharing that when they get alternate weekends, they treat it as if they have hit the jackpot. That is not right, it should not be the case. FRAM is saying no to this.
“If a father wants to play an important role and be with his child, added with the fact that a father is willing to fight for his share of equal custody in court, he should be allowed to do so.”
Sheikh Faleigh Sheikh Mansor said they wanted to set up a specific fathers' rights association.
Starting off as a WhatsApp group created by Fernandez who was going through his divorce in 2018, FRAM received its certification as a legitimate association from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) in May this year, and now has over 50 active members.
“We decided to not just stick to a WhatsApp group. We decided to go one step further and start an association which really doesn’t exist in Malaysia. A specific fathers' rights association. That’s how we began,” said Sheikh Faleigh, an entrepreneur.
Fernandez explained that even though the association is called Father’s Rights Association of Malaysia, its primary focus is the wellbeing of children involved in divorce cases, and is pushing for reforms to make the Law Reform (Divorce & Marriage) Act 1976 fair to both parents.
“FRAM is an association that puts the child in the forefront,” said Fernandez. “While there are a lot of child’s rights advocates, when it comes to a custody battle, they will all inevitably say the same thing... which is that the child is better off with the mother.
“This is a very strange and archaic stereotype because a lot of studies and findings by psychologists and child experts say that a child is actually better off not with just the father or mother, but with both parents playing an active role and having equal access,” he said.
He also shared that FRAM is working on a Bill to bring to Parliament that would focus on bringing about fairness in divorce cases, adding that Malaysia can start by simply tweaking certain aspects of the Law Reform (Divorce & Marriage) Act 1976.
Fernandez added the stereotype in Malaysia is that fathers are always the “bad guys” in the courts, with mothers being viewed as the only person who can care for their children, calling out the hypocrisy of gender equality when it comes to divorces in Malaysia.
“Does not being able to carry a child make the father a lesser parent? No, because a lot of the time, you don’t see the struggles of a father. He needs to go to work and bring in the money, he needs to also spend time with the kids and why we call it hypocrisy of the highest level is we all talk about gender equality but it is only women having equal rights.
“We are all for women having equal rights, but when it comes to the children in divorce cases, Malaysia takes 10 steps back. We have to adapt our current laws to be like those in Scandinavian countries, where when there is a divorce, both parents are granted equal custody,” explained Fernandez.
Starting off as a WhatsApp group created by Fernandez who was going through his divorce in 2018, FRAM received its certification as a legitimate association from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) in May this year, and now has over 50 active members.
“We decided to not just stick to a WhatsApp group. We decided to go one step further and start an association which really doesn’t exist in Malaysia. A specific fathers' rights association. That’s how we began,” said Sheikh Faleigh, an entrepreneur.
Fernandez explained that even though the association is called Father’s Rights Association of Malaysia, its primary focus is the wellbeing of children involved in divorce cases, and is pushing for reforms to make the Law Reform (Divorce & Marriage) Act 1976 fair to both parents.
“FRAM is an association that puts the child in the forefront,” said Fernandez. “While there are a lot of child’s rights advocates, when it comes to a custody battle, they will all inevitably say the same thing... which is that the child is better off with the mother.
“This is a very strange and archaic stereotype because a lot of studies and findings by psychologists and child experts say that a child is actually better off not with just the father or mother, but with both parents playing an active role and having equal access,” he said.
He also shared that FRAM is working on a Bill to bring to Parliament that would focus on bringing about fairness in divorce cases, adding that Malaysia can start by simply tweaking certain aspects of the Law Reform (Divorce & Marriage) Act 1976.
Fernandez added the stereotype in Malaysia is that fathers are always the “bad guys” in the courts, with mothers being viewed as the only person who can care for their children, calling out the hypocrisy of gender equality when it comes to divorces in Malaysia.
“Does not being able to carry a child make the father a lesser parent? No, because a lot of the time, you don’t see the struggles of a father. He needs to go to work and bring in the money, he needs to also spend time with the kids and why we call it hypocrisy of the highest level is we all talk about gender equality but it is only women having equal rights.
“We are all for women having equal rights, but when it comes to the children in divorce cases, Malaysia takes 10 steps back. We have to adapt our current laws to be like those in Scandinavian countries, where when there is a divorce, both parents are granted equal custody,” explained Fernandez.
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kt notes:
Mates, it's worse for 'fathers' in Western countries, no laughing matter!
I think if Daddy is Muslim and Mummy is non-Muslim then Father prevails right? No matter what the civil court says, even Federal Court. Just ask Indira Gandhi.
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