The Cabinet's decision to withdraw the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 was applauded by several lawyers and activists.
However, the experts, panels in a Bar Council forum here, cautioned that more must be done to holistically come to a fair conclusion on the long-standing issue on religious law in the country.
“It is a moral and political victory… but whether it is a legal victory I am not so sure,” said lawyer-activist Malik Imtiaz Sarwar during the forum: “How secular is our Constitution?”
Malik said that the Government, especially the Attorney-General, should go further to make the law uniform in all states to reflect the position that both parents’ consent is required to convert a child to Islam.
He noted that there were still some states where the Islamic law allows for unilateral conversion of a child for a single parent.
“The Attorney-General has a big role to play to ensure there is consistency in all state legislation. We can’t look at this in a piecemeal fashion, but holistically,” he said.
He said that the Government must be sensitive to the fact that there has been unfairness in custody disputes. He cited instances where One spouse converts to Islam and then unilaterally converts a child to Islam to set up proceedings in Syariah court.
“It’s a good thing that due recognition was given to the fact that the Constitutional imperative is geared towards equality,” he explained.
“If you look at the interpretation of the provision its talks of the singular used to denote the plural. The
withdrawal is consistent with that and I welcome it.
“Problem has been with the government has for awhile now. It is issue that has to be settled between federal and state with more meaningful discussion,” he said.
Malik noted that the climate is right for civil society and other stakeholders to further talk about the issue.
“At the moment there seems to be a shift towards inclusiveness in the way we look at these things, for example BN component parties are more open to discuss,” he said.
Concurring with Malik, syarie lawyer Nizam Bashir said that there has been cases where a spouse which was frustrated by the situation leaving the country because she was unable to get fairness and equality in the courts.
“If one parent goes to the Syariah court only dealing with the dispute only in the Islamic perspective, then the other parent are left out in the cold,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa of think tank Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) said that he was optimistic but was unsure if the Government was sincere in resolving the issue.
“We are still waiting for the outcome of the whole issue. In the first place, why was this done? For them to come up with this right after the election shows that there were ulterior motive…I think they were scared to disclose the bills before election they may face repercussions,” he said.
Ahmad Farouk said that the Quranic verse which says ‘there should be no coercion in religion’ meant that
the child should actually be free to make his or her own choice when she grew up.
“How they are being raised are not a matter of concern, but in actual fact, both parents have equal rights.
One parent should not have more right than the other.
He said that the government should not “bulldoze the laws just because we are inclined towards the muslims”.
“We must have mutual consensus and debate. We must be given the right to discuss any laws that affects the lives of both muslims and non-muslims."
Teoh El Sen
Sat Jul 06 2013
![Conversion law withdrawal: 'Moral victory, not legal victory' Conversion law withdrawal: 'Moral victory, not legal victory'](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-07/41373100881_295x200.jpg)
![Reman suspek kes keropok beracun disambung dua hari Reman suspek kes keropok beracun disambung dua hari](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721107133_keropokberacunrem.jpg)
Reman suspek kes keropok beracun disambung dua hari
Tempoh reman terhadap seorang pemilik kebun disambung selama dua hari, bagi membantu siasatan kematian dua kanak-kanak yang meninggal dunia akibat makan keropok beracun.
![Tidak perlu lagi kemas kini status COVID-19 dalam MySejahtera - KKM Tidak perlu lagi kemas kini status COVID-19 dalam MySejahtera - KKM](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721100784_TBmysj.jpg)
Tidak perlu lagi kemas kini status COVID-19 dalam MySejahtera - KKM
Jika positif COVID-19 melalui ujian kendiri, pesakit boleh mengunjungi klinik dan hospital berdekatan bagi mendapatkan pengesahan.
![Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-12/41702437730_maut.jpg)
Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang
Mayat hampir reput ditemui di sebuah rumah usang di Kesang Laut, berdekatan pusat timbang Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) pada Ahad.
Wanita dakwa dituduh Rafizi fail saman
Seorang wanita memfailkan saman terhadap Menteri Ekonomi, Rafizi Ramli bagi menuntut permohonan maaf secara terbuka berhubung dakwaan bahawa wanita berkenaan ialah isteri kepada bekas menteri yang dikaitkan dengan isu kapal tempur pesisir (LCS).
Bagaimanapun, Rafizi bergantung kepada pembelaan justifikasi berkata bersedia membuktikan kenyataan di mahkamah termasuk perlindungan bersyarat dan ulasan yang saksama terhadap saman fitnah yang difailkan oleh Zainab Mohd Salleh.
Bagaimanapun, Rafizi bergantung kepada pembelaan justifikasi berkata bersedia membuktikan kenyataan di mahkamah termasuk perlindungan bersyarat dan ulasan yang saksama terhadap saman fitnah yang difailkan oleh Zainab Mohd Salleh.
![Ahli Parlimen PN pakai reben putih di lengan tak langgar peraturan - Timbalan Speaker Ahli Parlimen PN pakai reben putih di lengan tak langgar peraturan - Timbalan Speaker](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721011336_PerikatanNasional.jpg)
Ahli Parlimen PN pakai reben putih di lengan tak langgar peraturan - Timbalan Speaker
Jelas Timbalan Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat itu, pendirian tersebut adalah keputusannya dan ia tidak dibuat oleh Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
![Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721107129_DonaldTrumpJDV.jpg)
Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya
Bekas Presiden Amerika Syarikat Donald Trump mengumumkan Senator Ohio JD Vance akan menjadi calon Naib Presidennya dalam pilihan raya 2024.
AWANI Ringkas: Pan Gon bakal umum letak jawatan hari ini?
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
![iOS 18 tampil ciri kembalikan gambar, video yang hilang atau rosak iOS 18 tampil ciri kembalikan gambar, video yang hilang atau rosak](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721103714_iOS.jpg)
iOS 18 tampil ciri kembalikan gambar, video yang hilang atau rosak
Pada iOS 18, iPadOS 18 dan macOS Sequoia, Apple memperkenalkan ciri baharu yang membolehkan data yang hilang ini dikembalikan.
[TERKINI] Suspek kes pempengaruh Esha mengaku bersalah
Seorang pemandu lori berusia 43 tahun mengaku bersalah membuat kenyataan menyinggung perasaan terhadap mendiang empengaruh media sosial, A Rajeswary atau Esha di TikTok.
Projek HSR Jakarta-Bandung rekod 4 juta penumpang
Projek Kereta Api Laju (HSR) Jakarta-Bandung yang dikenali sebagai Whoosh membawa empat juta penumpang sejak ia beroperasi secara komersial pada 17 Oktober, tahun lalu.