PENANG mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor is a good and thoughtful person. I have a lot of respect for him.
Salim said recently that single mother Loh Siew Hong should be given the custody of her three children, but they should remain as Muslims. He claimed the children becoming Hindus again might pose problems for Hindus and Muslims in the country.Salim might have good intentions but he must address the issue of law. There is no escaping from this.The fact that the children were minors and converted by their father Nagahswaran Muniandy without the consent Loh must be addressed.Besides, the matter of their conversion would not have risen in the first place had the religious authorities in Perlis paid attention to the constitutional provision on the conversion of minors.The Federal Court decided in 2018, in the case of the mother Indira Gandhi, that conversion of minors requires consent from both parents.Since the religious authorities defended the conversion of Loh’s three children on the basis of an old state enactment and the father’s testimony, such conversion has to be reversed by the application of the law, in accordance with the Federal Constitution of the country.To be fair to Salim, he wants a way out of the present unconstitutional conversion imbroglio.Perlis religious authorities, the culprits!Perlis’ religious authorities should have consulted the mother in the first place rather relying on the testimony of the drug-addict father, Nagahswaran.The matter of the conversion is not about race or religion, but about whether minors can be converted into other religions with the consent of both parents. Moreover, Loh has already obtained custody of the children in 2021.If she succeeds in the habeas corpus application tomorrow, this victory will merely affirm her right to custody.
Salim nevertheless can advise Loh to ensure that the children remain as Muslims, but it is she who will have to decide whether to exercise her right as a mother.Under the highly charged political circumstances, the law should take its course. Private arrangements might not do justice. — Feb 20, 2022.
Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
