On February 21st, Loh Siew Hong, the mother of the three children who were unilaterally converted to Islam by her ex-husband was given a writ of habeas corpus which enabled her to reunite with her children immediately. Habeas corpus was filed in this case when Loh was denied custody or worse still was not even allowed near her children despite the high court granting her the sole custody of them in March last year. The prominent case of M Indira Gandhi has set the precedent for this case on unilateral conversion, nevertheless, parties are defending unilateral conversion without understanding that this is wrong on both moral and legal grounds.
The Federal court’s decision on M. Indira Gandhi’s case in 2018 has elucidated that the children cannot be converted without the consent of the mother and if the mother is given custody then she has the legal right to make decisions related to the children’s lives. This is a clear indication of why unilateral conversion in Loh’s case is invalid as well. The claim that the conversion is allowed under state law is not acceptable as the federal constitution, being the law of the land, take precedence over the state laws and any law that is inconsistent with the federal constitution will be automatically void. Hence why the unilateral conversion does not stand on legal ground in this case or cases of similar nature. Unilateral conversion that takes into account the ideology or decision of only one parent completely dismisses the right and responsibility of the other parent. Provided that such conversions are also done to obtain custody of the children in some circumstances, the personal interest of a parent overshadows the children’s best interest, further strengthening the reason why unilateral conversion is not reasonable.
From a legal perspective, the stance on unilateral conversion has been made clear with rulings in cases like Loh’s and Indira’s. However, there are always disputes on the outcome of cases alike because of the involvement of religions but my argument is, this has got nothing to do with religion, to begin with. The child can embrace any religion that resonates with them when they turn 18 and the freedom of religious choice is also clearly stated in the federal constitution. Thus, it’s a fallacy that this is a plight involving religion. Instead, it is a failed moral obligation of one partner to another; of a parent to their children. Fallout in a marriage or any other reason is not acceptable to absolutely relegate the right of a mother over her children and vice versa. Separating a mother from her children is not condoned by any religion so how is this a matter of religion? Instead, it is a question of the moral failure of a parent and a partner. Revisiting Indira’s case, in an article published in Malay mail in 2020, the distressed mother claimed that she did not mind if her youngest daughter were to embrace Islam but all she wanted was to reunite with her after not seeing her little girl since 2009 as an 11-month old baby. The fact that unilateral conversions as such are going to leave the children deprived of a mother’s care and love can never be justified on any grounds.
Situations like this can be sensitive due to the involvement of religions being emphasised so much despite that being not the main issue here. So step aside, try to look at it from the perspective of humanity and common sense. You would not even need a constitution because your conscience itself would tell you that, cutting off a parent and snatching her rights on making decisions for a child she has given life to, is just so wrong!
Thanusha is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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