PETALING JAYA, May 2— An influential PAS MP has called for a common court to be established to rule on marital disputes arising from situations where one spouse converts to Islam, amid a slew of such cases which has sparked controversy.
Shah Alam Member of Parliament Khalid Samad said a mechanism must be found for both parents to appear before the same court and where their rights will be upheld.
The PAS man said whether the common court is syariah or civil is secondary so long as a formula is found where both can appear and a fair decision made, he told The Malaysian Insider after attending a dialogue at St Francis Xavier's church here yesterday.
Khalid was commenting on the latest custodial dispute involving Indira Ghandi, a Hindu, and her estranged husband who had converted to Islam.
Her husband K. Patmanathan, now known as Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, had converted their three children, aged 1, 11 and 12 years, to Islam without her knowledge and consent earlier this month.
He has gone missing with their youngest child and has obtained a syariah court order to gain custody of the older two siblings.
In turn Indira has obtained a ruling from the High Court in Perak for the return of the child.
Khalid said he did not support the syariah court’s decision to convert the children and said ideally the question of custody should be decided based on norms and fairness.
The parent who is not granted custody should also not be denied visitation rights, he said.
He said both parents should be allowed to teach their children their respective faiths and the children should have the choice to choose when they come of age.
Khalid said syariah courts should also be upgraded to better handle such situations so as not to be seen as just siding one party because Muslims are duty bound to ensure justice even to non-Muslims.
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