The confirmation by the Perlis mufti that the state’s religious department had registered the children of Loh Siew Hong as Muslims at the request of their father alone, as reported in FMT has cleared the confusion as to their religious status.
The mufti further confirmed that the said conversions were not registered at the national registration department and as such, it is unclear if certificates of conversion were issued on their behalf.
As Loh has publicly said that she did not consent to the conversion of her children, the decision of the Federal Court in Indira Gandhi in 2018 clearly applies in this case.
In this regard, the following words of the Federal Court itself, which was chaired by Zulkefli Makinudin, the President of the Court of Appeal at the time, are necessary to repeat, which are self explanatory:
“Since custody of the children had been granted to the wife, it was the wife who exercised the dominant influence in their lives and to allow the other spouse to unilaterally convert the children without the consent of the wife would amount to a serious interference with the lifestyle of the new family unit. Under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961 (‘the GIA’), both parents had equal rights in relation to the custody and upbringing of the infant children and the wishes of both parents was to be taken into consideration. The conversion of the husband to Islam did not alter the antecedent legal position, nor did it bring the children out of the ambit of the GIA. Based on a purposive interpretation of art 12(4) read with the Eleventh Schedule of the FC, and on an application of ss 5 and 11 of the GIA, it became clear that the consent of both parents was required before a certificate of conversion to Islam could be issued in respect of the children.”
The said religious department may have been under the wrong impression that this was a case in which the mother of the children could not be traced, but it is clear now that not only did she not consent to the said conversions, she has also obtained sole custody and guardianship of the said children from the Kuala Lumpur High Court last year.
Since the issue of unilateral conversions has been conclusively decided by the apex court in Indira Gandhi, the said state religious department ought to abide by its terms and cancel the registration of the said conversions without the need for the matter to be litigated.