PARLIAMENT | Men whose marriages end because they have converted to Islam should be "man enough" to do the right thing by dissolving their union at a civil court, said a minister.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said said the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act (amendment) (LRA) would allow them to do this.

Therefore, she said, they shouldn't use Islam as an excuse to shirk their responsibilities.

"The family they left behind should not be left hanging. I'm not married but even this angers me.

"They run away, don't pay alimony, and misuse Islam when the religion is, in fact, one that encourages responsibility.

"The (LRA) encourages them to be gentlemen. If they are 'anak jantan' (man enough), divorce properly.

"What is there to be afraid of? Why run and hide behind a syariah judge?" Azalina said in the Dewan Rakyat last night.

She was explaining amendments to Section 51 of the LRA, which states: "Where one party to a marriage has converted to Islam [...] either party may petition for a divorce under this section or section 53."

Previously, a Muslim convert could not file a divorce petition in the civil courts.

Azalina, however, relented that the amendments can't compel a convert to initiate divorce proceedings at a civil court.

This is because once they have embraced Islam, the converts are subject to Muslim family law.

Each state has a syariah provision that Muslims can only initiate divorce proceedings at a syariah court.

Messy convert divorces

Divorces caused by one partner converting to Islam have had a record of creating a mess.

In some cases, it has resulted in protracted custody battles over children unilaterally converted to Islam by the Muslim parent.

In the case of S Deepa, syariah and civil courts gave conflicting custody orders for her two children.