Last month’s cabinet directive , which imposed a ban on parents from secretly converting their children, is both toothless and ineffective, said an opposition leader.

“The conversion directive by the cabinet is a toothless law as it does not filter to the ground level to be effectively implemented. The directive does not make any difference as non-converts still face the same hurdles and difficulties in getting custody of their children." DAP Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran ( right ) said.

The cabinet had appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Koh Tsu Koon to head the committee to overcome issues such as custody of children faced by the non-Muslim members of the converted spouse.

"The cabinet has given the directive on this matter - a non-Muslim matter should be disposed of in a non-Muslim manner. But now it looks like the directive is toothless as the courts, lawyers and various state government agencies are not adhering to the advice from the cabinet," said the parliamentarian.

"The cabinet directive is merely an advice and carries no legal authority. Therefore, the government should immediately ‘synchronise’ all the clauses that are in conflict in conversion cases and bring out some uniformity."

To raise issue in Parliament next month

Kulasegaran said he would press the matter to be discussed in the next parliamentary session on June 16.

He said action on the controversial issue was long overdued.

“It is reliably learned that draft laws have been made ready on conversion cases some three years ago and they are collecting dust," he lamented.

"If the laws are clear - which should have been the case - conversion cases may not need to be litigated in court as there is so much pain, suffering and anxiety by the family members who are involved in such cases."

According to Kulasegaran, the BN government is making ad-hoc decisions on such an important policy matter.

"They should get down to work and have the political will to bring these laws in the parliamentary sitting next month to bring uniformity to the various laws."

The cabinet acted last month after a furore erupted over the case of an Indian woman who faced losing custody of her three children after her estranged husband converted them to Islam without her consent.