Malaysia is a signatory to the agreement that promotes the best interests of a child, says Unicef rep.
Its representative in Malaysia, Marianne Clark-Hattingh, said the ruling was in line with the “best interests of the child” principle upheld by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
She said Article 3 of the convention states that the best interests of the child must be the primary concern of all adults making decisions on their children’s behalf.
“All adults should do what is best for children, considering the impact of their decisions.
“The ‘best interests of the child’ is a fundamental principle in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which Malaysia is party to,” she said in a statement today.
“Unilateral conversions ultimately tear families apart and the ensuing custody battles are often long and painful for all concerned, most notably the children themselves.”
In a landmark decision this morning, the Federal Court set aside the unilateral conversion of M Indira Gandhi’s three children to Islam after ruling that any conversion of non-Muslim children must get the consent of both parents.
The court also decreed that the civil court was allowed to decide on such matters.
The ruling put an end to the interfaith custody battle that followed after Indira’s ex-husband Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, formerly known as K Pathmanathan, converted her three children without her knowledge in 2009.
Meanwhile, Sisters in Islam (SiS) said Indira’s tenacity in pursuing the issue had resulted in the decision, which not only served her case but had given the country clarity and certainty on the issue of conversion of minors.
It said women’s groups like itself had recognised the injustices and trauma caused in such cases.
“We have sought to push through law reform since the late 1980s to ensure that further injustices such as this do not continue.
“Unilateral conversion of a child by one parent without the express consent of the other is unconstitutional and divisive to the family institution.
“The lived reality of the people involved is years and years of emotional and psychological distress,” SiS said in a statement.
SiS said the court had upheld that the government and state authorities were accountable, and that all their actions and decisions were bound by the law.
“Where they act outside their given functions and powers provided under the law, the civil courts have full jurisdiction to set aside such actions or decisions,” it said.
‘Right-wingers sowing discord over case’
In a separate statement, The Centre For A Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) said it hoped the ruling would derail efforts by right wing groups to sow discord and push the “plural” country further down the road of extremism.
“For years, the acrimonious debate over Indira’s case and those related to overlapping jurisdiction between the civil and Syariah courts had chipped off at the moderate foundations this country is built upon.
“The right wingers in our midst had been very strident in fanning public sentiments, to the detriment of nation building,” it said.
It said the court had upheld of the basic structure of the Federal Constitution in its decision and thereby entrenched constitutional rights in the face of any “Parliamentary attacks”.
The court had declared that Parliament’s move to insert clause (1A) in Article 121 of the Federal Constitution (that the High Courts shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts) did not oust the jurisdiction of the civil courts, nor did it confer judicial power on the Syariah courts.
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Civil courts have the power, say judges as top court quashes conversion certs
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