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Protect the rights of parents and the best interest of the child

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) is disappointed with the decision made by the Court of Appeal in M Indira Gandhi’s case on Dec 31, 2015.

The issue of unilateral conversion and the circumstances surrounding such cases is often difficult to address and even more so difficult to remedy. Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) provide that everyone has the right to an effective remedy by a competent national tribunal.

In cases of unilateral conversion, the Court of Appeal of Malaysia effectively divested themselves of such competency, leaving non-Muslim without a competent and suitable court to hear the matter. This clearly violates the fundamental rights held by Indira Gandhi.

Further, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child (UNCRC), the government of Malaysia and all public institution of the country is duty bound to implement and enforce the principles enshrined in UNCRC. Any decisions by the court should reflect the principles of UNCRC and place the best interest of the child as the top priority in the decision-making process.

On this note, the decision to permit the unilateral conversion of minors without any challenge by the Court of Appeal can be seen as the failure of the Court in upholding the principles of UNCRC. Not only does the failure violate children’s rights enshrined in the UNCRC, this failure also condemns the parent and children to further emotional turmoil and darken the future of the children involved with each passing day.

As the future of Malaysia relies on the healthy development of children and young persons in Malaysia, it is of uppermost importance for all governmental agencies and Malaysian to take appropriate steps to ensure that children and young persons are given an ideal environment to learn and grow. Such a failure to safeguard the best interest of the child must not be allowed to continue and must be dealt with by all relevant institution and agencies immediately!

In the event of an appeal to the Federal Court of Malaysia, Suaram urges the Federal Court to implement and uphold the principles enshrined in the UNCRC and Child Act 2001 and ensure that Indira Gandhi’s children’s interests are protected. Failure to do so would undoubtedly put Malaysia in clear violations of its obligations under the UNCRC and further tarnish Malaysia’s reputation in the world.


SEVAN DORAISAMY is executive director, Suaram.

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