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No answers from Putrajaya on child conversion

YOURSAY ‘It has none - it is left to the people to enforce good sense and justice.'

'Najib must speak up on conversion issue'

The child is to retain his religion at time of birth and can change to any religion once he reaches 18 years of age.

Nazri Abdul Aziz, as former law minister, then informed the press about this cabinet decision.

Due to pressure from certain NGOs, this just and legally correct decision has not been implemented to date.

The law is very clear that a person who marries under the Civil Law Marriage Act 1976, must fulfill all his prior obligations under the Act notwithstanding his conversion to Islam.

That is, he cannot use conversion to run away from his obligations.

Banzai: Our PM is interested in promoting kangkung and ayam sales only. He dares not make decisions on several important issues that the country is facing.

Oriole: The PM of Malaysia lacks courage, conviction, vision. How do you expect him to speak to an entrenched system? He will dance to the tunes of the most absurd racist, right-wing elements of his party.

Let's stop looking to Putrajaya for answers because they have none. It is left to the people to enforce good sense and justice, so let's look to how this can be achieved.

Cry, my beloved country: What does the current law minister, Nancy Shukri, in Najib's cabinet have to say?

I bet my last dollar that Najib will not say anything. Or if he says anything at all, it will be different things to different groups, preferably on foreign soil. All his talk of moderation is ...(fill in the blanks, please, based on past happenings).

Fair and Open : Najib cannot say anything clearly, so forget about him. He has the mindset of a junior minister at best. Until today he may not believe he is actually the prime minister and therefore has to be seen to be and is, decisive.

Those Idiots: Oriole is right, we should stop looking to Putrajaya for answers, after all, people don't even have faith in them to take care of two animals.

This is way, way, above Najib's intelligence level. I wonder if there are any intelligent cabinet members to decipher this conflict.

Anonymous #33877536: The whole country is confused.

Hplooi: Some extreme-right-wing elements are already framing this issue as 'an attack on Islam...' Go to the Yahoo news comment section and you will see such flame-baiters peppered amongst the (usually) outraged comments over this conversion-custody-kidnap issue.

Mytwosensworth: The decision on the custody of the products (the children) of a contract under the civil law (marriage) under which they were registered, cannot be later unilaterally substituted by one party under another law, for which the other party has not subscribed to. This is simple logic.

Tok karut: Having said that Aziz Bari, what say our academia - the ones who are teaching our youths - what vision have they shared - or are they waiting to see what Umno does?

What has happened to our universities, that the youths are not critical thinkers, more so about the role of religion in the public sphere?

Tan Kim Keong: Najib will not make a decision. This is his modus operandi when it involves constitutional matters that touch on human rights.

He prefers only making speeches about moderation regarding religious and racial issues. Even if he makes one, it will be lacking in clearness and distinctness thereby leaving it to officials to interpret according to their whims and fancies.

Swipenter: Nazri, in this case you are the exception. Tell us which Muslim/Malay minister and politician, BN and otherwise, is not a pussycat when it comes to issues confronting the Malays, Islam and even the royalty except when defending them rightly or wrongly?

Then you see how fierce and vigorous their words and actions are. They will threaten and organise demonstrations, call for boycotts and what have you, especially after Friday prayers.

Najib is even conniving with Islamic/ Muslim fundamentalism and Malay fascism. He does not have the guts or moral strength to come out to do and say the right thing in this kind of issue.

He needs their support for his political survival with the power struggle that is going on within the ranks of Umno Baru.

Police inaction in child custody fights upsets Kula

Fairnsquare: When the police are unable to enforce court orders and regulations, the effectiveness of the government becomes questionable, and this seriously undermines its stability.

Does it mean we have to replace the government to gain effectiveness or replace the IGP? This question will come up in the rakyat's mind.

Hplooi: The key apparatus of the executive is under the grip of the extreme-right-wing cabal in this country. They are still (nay maybe intensifying) their nefarious activity of poisoning half the population against the other half.

Sabahans and Sarawakians please take note, as this has serious consequences to the very nature of the 'Malaysia' enterprise.

The religious courts are now (administratively, even if ultra-vires) elevated to the same level as the civil courts. Whilst federal politicians may for political expediency waver that this is only applicable to the peninsular, this will not stop the federally-empowered religious agencies to enforce such "laws" in Sabah and Sarawak in the future.

Fairnessforall: First of all the IGP Khalid Abu Bakar does not even know the law. According to Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, the cabinet had already decided that any underage child in a marriage where one partner has converted, the child is to remain in the religion of the parents when the marriage took place unless both parents agree to the conversion.

So this means the conversions of the children are illegal and the Syariah court has no right to grant custody of the child to the father. It seems that the Syariah court has overstepped its boundaries and the order given by them is invalid.

Does not Khalid know this has been agreed upon by the cabinet? Then he is not fit to be the IGP if he does not know the law. Why is Najib quiet?

What is the point of cabinet decisions when the Syariah court judge and the IGP can still go against it?

So is Najib saying that his cabinet has got no power and decisions made are useless?


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