The landmark unilateral conversion case of M. Indira Gandhi’s children, declared void by the Federal Court yesterday is a victory for all Malaysians. Wanita DAP welcomes the decision and is relieved that the ordeal is over for Indira Gandhi and her family. For about nine long years, Indira Gandhi persistently fought this case, together with her lawyer, YB Kula Segaran, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ipoh Barat, Perak. The result has brought justice, not only to Indira Gandhi, but to every Malaysian, especially women who lived in fear of unilateral conversions. Indira’s perseverance paid off, and with the positive outcome of this case, Wanita DAP hopes that unilateral conversions will never happen again.
More importantly is the fact that the Syariah Courts has never been empowered to overrule our civil courts and should never be allowed to do so. This is the right of every citizen, as enshrined in our country’s Federal Constitution, the highest order in our country. The Syariah Court is limited to matters pertaining to family law according to Islamic principles and is only entrusted to enforce its ruling over Muslims. In case of dispute, the Federal Court is still the highest authority to make the final decision, and Wanita DAP is satisfied that the learned judge has upheld justice, albeit nine years too late.
If this decision was made nine years ago, Indira’s baby daughter would have had a mother during her childhood. This good but late decision has costed the mother and daughter years of seperation and nothing in this world can bring those years back. Even Islamic law does not allow the father to claim custody of a baby girl and it is very cruel and unjustified to forcefully separate a baby daughter from her mother.
Religion should never be used as a weapon during divorce and children should not be victims of parents who cannot get along with each other. Wanita DAP will continue to monitor the situation, and through the parliament, ensure that Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution will be modified for clarity from ‘parent’ to ‘parents’, and from ‘ibu atau bapa’ to ‘ibu dan bapa’.