I refer to the Malaysiakini report Man buried as Muslim amid conversion row.

Their late father was a 74-year-old man who knew nothing about Islam. Someone claimed he had converted to Islam by showing his thumb print on a ‘Masuk Islam’ (conversion) certificate.

What happens if someone puts my thumb print on a ‘Masuk Islam’ certificate when I am unconsciousness? Am I bound to the religion through this kind of conversion?

The Syariah Court ruling that he be buried as a Muslim is not just hurting the family of the deceased man, it also tarnishing the image of Islam. And why hasn’t the High Court the jurisdiction to stay the Syariah Court ruling?

The High Court should have the legal power to determine the religious conversion process of a non-Muslim (prior to him or her being converted) to ensure it is done within the one’s constitutional rights.

The Federal Court has already ruled that a marriage registered in civil court can be heard by the High Court if a matter arises even one of the couple has already converted to Islam.

With regards to the deceased elderly man and his family members and similar cases, it is also advisable for non-Muslim judges to hear the case in the civil courts. A Muslim judge is obliged to obey his or her own religious teachings and cannot act impartially.

A long-term solution is to enact a new law mandating non-Muslims who convert to Islam to apply for a certificate of some sorts from their former religion’s authority confirming they have left that religion.

This new ruling can effectively prevent secretive or unlawful religious conversion from one religion to another involving non-Muslims.