Parliament has to enact laws to remove "overlapping jurisdiction" between civil and  syariah courts over the conversion of children and custody issues of inter-religious nature, Gerakan says.

"The laws must be clear to ensure the syariah court cannot have jurisdiction to (rule on the conversion of) minors without the consent of both parents.

"The syariah court should also not have jurisdiction to grant custodial rights over minors who are not converted with the consent of both parents," Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang said in a statement today.

"As such, Gerakan Youth hereby urges Parliament to enact laws to remove the overlapping jurisdiction of the High Court and syariah court on this matter."

Tan called on both BN and Pakatan Rakyat to "work together to resolve this issue".

In this he joins the chorus of indignation over Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar's refusal to take action against a father accused of kidnapping his son after he ignored the High Court order in Seremban had granting custody of the boy to the mother.

Among the critics from both sides of the political divide are two former law ministers Nazri Abdul Aziz, who is currently tourism minister, and Zaid Ibrahim.

Khalid's excuse was that there were purportedly "two court orders" on the matter of S Deepa's children, whom her estranged husband had converted to Islam without her consent.

On Monday the High Court awarded Deepa custody of her two children, overruling a syariah court decision obtained last year by her ex-husband who had converted to Islam the same year.

Justice Zabariah Mohd Yusof ruled this on grounds that Deepa's marriage to N Viran (now Izwan Abdullah) was made under civil law.

Two days after Deepa's court victory, her husband reportedly abducted their son and allegedly kicked her as she was trying to stop him driving away.

Tan said while Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution stipulates that civil courts do not have jurisdiction on matters that fall under the syariah courts and that deal with syariah laws, Deepa's case involved the non-Muslim spouse objecting to her children's conversion.

Additionally, the cabinet in 2009 decided against unilateral conversion of minors.

"However, it is only a decision of the cabinet and not enacted in our laws," said Tan.