KEEMANXP Dot Com

by Jayapragas Gnaniah 

In response to Govt to have regulation for converts to inform family(The Star, 10 April 2008)

Kudos to Pak Lah for thinking of the need for converts (to Islam) to inform their family members of their intentions to convert by filling-in a form or writing a letter. Nevertheless, a form or a letter is not sufficient, and can be wrongly manipulated by interested parties. A convert-to-be might take the easy way out by falsifying declaration that his/her family has been informed.

While the decision to convert is an individual right, the government has an obligation to all of its citizens (irrespective of their ethnicity and religion) to protect and minimize negative impact on the welfare of the children and/or other members of the family. The government should not be supportive and protective of the convert only. The government through its appointed agency or representative needs to get the convert-to-be and his/her family members together for a face-to-face meeting, even if the convert-to-be is at his/her death-bed. The convert should then make a declaration of his/her intentions in front of the family and the appointed representative as a witness. In addition, the convert-to-be needs to make an open declaration of the consequences of his/her actions, such as the intentions to convert their children, or to give away his/her property the Islamic way, etc. The family members of the convert-to-be should not be handicapped or left in the dark when the convert starts to take action after his/her conversion. This would allow equal footing and all fairness to family members to make the necessary preparations to defend their rights, and not left feeling "bullied" by the privileges bestowed on the convert by his/her conversion.

On another note, the government should also reconsider the issue of children being converted just because the father has converted to Islam. Both parents came into union and had children before the father converted to Islam. Thus, both parents have equal rights on deciding their children’s religious beliefs and their future. The government or the law cannot insist that the children become Muslim just because the father has converted to Islam. The matter have to be solved through a just legal civil process, so that the children are not manipulated or taken advantage of, and his wife and other family members are not victimized, again by the privileges bestowed on the convert by his/her conversion (to Islam).

Once again, kudos to the Pak Lah for being sensitive to the spiritual rights of Malaysians, but this small step need to be bigger and equally protective of all citizens of Malaysia.