Federal government challenged to follow up 'divorce first' initiative
FMT
GEORGE TOWN: The DAP wants the federal government to compel all states to emulate Negeri Sembilan by enacting its proposed “divorce first, convert later” law.
The federal Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 should be amended, to provide a final and long term solution on the issue of religious conversions within marriages, said DAP national vice-chairman M Kula Segaran.
He urged the federal government to introduce a Bill in parliament for the Federal Territories as well. (Islamic affairs are administered by state governments, and by the federal government in the Federal Territories.)
“The challenge is for other states to implement a law similar to the one proposed by Negeri Sembilan,” he said. He urged the prime minister, Najib Razak, to take the lead and advise the states to enact a similar law to bring certainty to the ongoing endless family fights in the courts on conversion issues,” said Kula.
The Negeri Sembilan government has announced plans to amend the state religious enactment to make it mandatory for any married person wanting to embrace Islam to first divorce his or her spouse if the latter remains a non-Muslim, and for the newly converted person to make a statutory declaration that he or she is now a Muslim.
Kula hailed it as a step in the right direction. He said the federal government had failed to put into effect a 2009 Cabinet decision to ban unilateral conversions of minors to Islam.
“Najib should now do what ought to have been done,” said Kula, also the Ipoh Barat MP, in a statement here today.
He said that although Section 51 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act allowed the non-converting spouse to file for divorce, this provision had been abused by the converting spouse by converting the children without the consent or knowledge of the other spouse.
FMT
GEORGE TOWN: The DAP wants the federal government to compel all states to emulate Negeri Sembilan by enacting its proposed “divorce first, convert later” law.
The federal Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 should be amended, to provide a final and long term solution on the issue of religious conversions within marriages, said DAP national vice-chairman M Kula Segaran.
He urged the federal government to introduce a Bill in parliament for the Federal Territories as well. (Islamic affairs are administered by state governments, and by the federal government in the Federal Territories.)
“The challenge is for other states to implement a law similar to the one proposed by Negeri Sembilan,” he said. He urged the prime minister, Najib Razak, to take the lead and advise the states to enact a similar law to bring certainty to the ongoing endless family fights in the courts on conversion issues,” said Kula.
The Negeri Sembilan government has announced plans to amend the state religious enactment to make it mandatory for any married person wanting to embrace Islam to first divorce his or her spouse if the latter remains a non-Muslim, and for the newly converted person to make a statutory declaration that he or she is now a Muslim.
Kula hailed it as a step in the right direction. He said the federal government had failed to put into effect a 2009 Cabinet decision to ban unilateral conversions of minors to Islam.
“Najib should now do what ought to have been done,” said Kula, also the Ipoh Barat MP, in a statement here today.
He said that although Section 51 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act allowed the non-converting spouse to file for divorce, this provision had been abused by the converting spouse by converting the children without the consent or knowledge of the other spouse.
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