Should they be allowed to leave Islam?

As expected, there were mixed responses on the suggestion to draw up a specific law to deal with apostasy from several MPs interviewed by Malaysiakini in Parliament yesterday.

MPs from the ruling coalition and the opposition had different takes on how the government should handle the apostasy issue which was raised by Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat) on Tuesday.

The Batu Pahat MP made a call to implement a specific law following MCA president Ong Ka Ting's suggestion last week to allow non-Muslims who had converted to Islam to leave the faith if their marriage to Muslims ended in divorce.

His call was echoed by Nasharuddin Mat Isa (PAS-Bachok) who also stressed that besides having a law on apostasy, the authorities should make the Syariah law clearer on the subject.

Here are some responses from MPs when met at the Parliament lobby:

Fuziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan): When someone embraces Islam, it is due to conviction. Not because the person wants to marry a Muslim and it's not out of convenience. This shows the contradiction that they're allowed to leave Islam now that they are divorced. If they embrace Islam because of conviction they should stay. Otherwise, I wouldn't blame the person who wants to leave the faith, but I'd blame the surroundings especially her/his partner for not educating him/her enough about Islam.

Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Bukit Bendera): If people embrace Islam by will of marriage, they should be given a choice to choose their faith when the marriage ends.

Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor): I think you have to go by the freedom of religion in the constitution. Whoever converts, they have the right to renounce the religion to go back to his or any other religion.

If they were to rehabilitate the apostates, that is putting an obstacle in the way of freedom of religion.

The Syariah court already says someone can leave Islam but with a green light from them. I think they're going on the principle: Once a Muslim, always a Muslim, which I think that's wrong.

Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena): It is up the Syariah court to decide whether they can renounce their religion or not. They have to obey the court's decision whatever the outcome is.

The people who embraced Islam through marriage, however, should whole-heartedly have faith in Islam and the responsible ones around them should educate them about the religion so in the future, their children will not be lost as to what religion they should be embracing.

Shafie Apdal (BN-Semporna): We cannot force someone to embrace Islam. Religiously speaking, they have to be willing to embrace Islam.

In Malaysia, the official religion is Islam, as stated in the constitution. It's not freedom of religion, but it's the freedom to practise any other religion besides Islam. But when it comes to apostasy, it is not spelled out clearly.

We need to make an in-depth research why they want to renounce Islam in the first place. Rather than stopping them to renounce the faith, it's better to help them by addressing the problems they have and help solve them.

Razali Ibrahim (BN-Muar): If someone wants to convert to Islam, they have to be willing to embrace it and not by force. If the time comes, and if the person feels like he wants to convert, it is not by law and it's between them and God. With a law, you can maintain the relationship with the community.

The problem in this Islam is, the people who renounce Islam after the marriage ends, converted to Islam in the first place to obey the law because they cannot have inter-marriage where husband and wife not embracing the same religion.