Religious groups welcomed the cabinet directive stating that children should be raised in the religion at the time of marriage should one of the parents is to later convert to another religion.

Council of Churches of Malaysia general-secretary Dr Hermen Shastri however said laws had to be formulated so that the cabinet directive can be cast in stone.

"Conversion is a complicated matter. There is also a problem of jurisdiction which has to be addressed. If the person converts to Islam, he or she comes under the purview of the syariah courts,” he said.

“Hence, we hope with the cabinet's directive - and reinforced through laws - would help resolve the matter," he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz today announced the cabinet had decided that children of parents, where one has opted to convert, must be raised in the common religion at the time of marriage.

He said that even if a spouse had converted to Islam, the person would still need to fulfill his or her marriage responsibilities according to civil marriage laws.

Nazri added that religion should not be used as a tool to escape marriage responsibilities and that conversion should never be grounds for the dissolution of marriage.

"Religious conversion must come with the innocent party (children) being protected from being victimised, as well as protection being given to the person who had already converted.

"Children should be brought up in the common religion. For the spouse who intends to convert to Islam, the person would also have to come clean. Civil marriages have to be resolved according to civil laws," said Nazri.

The minister said the cabinet has also instructed the attorney-general to look at all relevant laws which needed to be amended.

He said with respect to Islamic enactments, the matters would have to be brought up with the respective sultans being the heads of religion of the states.

Directive as a long-awaited decision

The controversial issue came to the fore following help sought by kindergarten teacher, M Indira Gandhi, 35, after her convert husband K Patmanathan converted their three children, the youngest being a one-year-old girl, without her knowledge.

indra gandhi 170409 04 Indira ( left ) when contacted said she was not aware of the directive but would consult her lawyers on the matter.

A Sivanesan, who is one of Indira's lawyers, described the directive as a long awaited decision and he hoped that the cabinet would reform existing laws so that the new policy will have legal effect.

He suggested that the Marriage and Divorce Act be amended so that the jurisdiction of the various state Islamic councils can be clarified.

“The reforms should also include making it compulsory for issues such as children, maintenance, custody and divorce be decided in the civil courts," he said.

Sivanesan also suggested that in matters where family members are not aware of religious conversion such as the M Moorthy case, the state Islamic council should require the convert to get an order from the civil court that he or she is no longer professing the old religion.

Vaithilingam: A very good beginning

Meanwhile, Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) president A Vaithilingam described the cabinet decision as a “very good beginning”.

"We had a meeting with the cabinet committee on Monday and they have responded to our calls," he said. "I hope to get more details about this directive."

Vaithilingam said his inter-faith group would work with state Islamic councils and Muslim non-governmental organisations to resolve the issue.

"This is a national issue that have affected Malaysians for many years and we thanked the prime minister for the directive."