No legal provisions allow minor conversions without parents’ permission

Religious Affairs Minister Senator Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar reaffirmed that there are no legal provisions in law that provides for minor conversions without the permission of their parents.

“Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution provides for parents rights on the faith of their children under the age of 18 as following:

“For the purposes of Clause (3) the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian.”

Na’im referred to the Federal Court judgment in the case of Indira Gandhi that defined the term parent as both mother and father.

He said this in a written reply to Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan (GRS-Keningau) who questioned the recent conversion of underage students that are done quietly without the permission of the parents and went against the constitution.

Kitingan asked what action was taken by the government to haul up the offenders and prevent unconstitutional proselytization activities.

Though it is not expressly stated, the question is widely believed to be in relations to the underhanded tactics that was revealed by a Chinese Muslim convert preacher.

Na’im pointed out that in the case of Loh Siew Hong, the Federal Court rejected the appeals of the Perlis Islamic bodies and declared Loh’s children would remain Hindus.

He urged all parties to respect the Federal Constitution and to each other to ensure peace and harmony of the nation.