The government should amend the federal constitution in order to put to rest confusion over the unilateral conversion of children to Islam, DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh said.

The senior lawyer urged that Article 12(4) of the constitution, after the word parent, be amended to make it clear that consent for conversion must come from both parents, provided both are alive, so that there would be no more disputes on conversion.

The DAP will pledge the support of its 38 MPs if such an amendment is moved, Karpal told a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

A two-thirds majority in Parliament is required in order to pass any amendment to the constitution and the BN could therefore rely on DAP's support, he added.

NONE Karpal ( right ) was referring to the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act Amendment Bill 2013, which was tabled in Parliament last week.

Many political parties, including those from the ruling BN, and NGOs have raised strong objections to Clause 107B of the amendment that allows a parent who has converted to Islam to convert his or her underaged children as fundamentally unjust.

“DAP, will in the public interest, provide the necessary support. In the interest of humanity, such an amendment should secure the support of all members of Parliament on either side of the divide,” he said.

He said that the vote must be taken according to “conscience”.

“The government and the opposition should remove their whips. Conscience will dictate the amendment attains universal support,” said Karpal.

Should the government not table an amendment to the constitution, however, Karpal said that he himself would table a Private Member’s Bill to try and bring the amendment to the lower house and seek support from both sides of the political divide.

He stressed that the constitution must be amended before the bill cannot be tabled for second reading in the Parliament.

“Otherwise, the problem will arise again even if the bill is withdrawn,” he said.

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