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The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision, has overturned the unilateral conversion of three Hindu children to Islam by their father, a Muslim convert. The ruling favoured the children's Hindu mother, Loh Siew Hong, citing the Federal Court's precedent in M. Indira Gandhi's case. The presiding judge, Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, declared unconstitutional a Perlis state law provision allowing conversion with just one parent's consent.
Granting all nine orders requested by Loh in her legal challenge, the Court of Appeal affirmed that the three children are adherents of Hinduism. Hadhariah emphasized the High Court's failure to address the key issues of the lawsuit: the lawfulness of unilateral conversion and the constitutionality of Section 117(b) of the Perlis state law. This section permits the unilateral conversion of children to Islam but was deemed unconstitutional as it contradicts Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution.
The judge underscored the binding nature of the Federal Court's decision in Indira's case, affirming that consent from both parents is required before converting minor children to another religion. Despite attempts to argue for the Malay language translation, the Court of Appeal maintained the authoritative status of the English text of the Federal Constitution.
Hadhariah clarified that there is no evidence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong prescribing the Bahasa Malaysia version as authoritative. Consequently, the interpretation of Article 12(4) follows the English version, leading to the declaration that Section 117(b) is unconstitutional.
Section 117(b), amended in 2016 to allow conversion with consent from either parent, was deemed unconstitutional by the Court of Appeal. The decision signals that current laws allowing children's conversion to Islam without both parents' consent violate the Federal Constitution. The three-man panel, including judges Datuk Hashim Hamzah and Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, affirmed a commitment to the English version's interpretation of Article 12(4) and the invalidity of unilateral conversions without both parents' consent.
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