A Study On The Issue Of Unilateral Conversion Of A Minor By Consent Of One Parent In Malaysia

• Main Authors: Noor ‘Ashikin, Hamid, Noraida, Harun, Nazli, Ismail@Nawang, Kamaliah, Salleh, Asiah, Bidin
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: K Law (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/1655/1/FH03-FUHA-17-08862.pdf; http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/1655/

The Perlis State Legislative Assembly’s has recently changed its state Islamic law provision which removed the requirement for both parents’ consent for a child conversion to Islam. Six other states and the Federal Territories also require only one parent’s approval for a child to convert to Islam. If the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (LRA) proposed amendment which will require both parents’ consent before a child from a civil marriage is converted to Islam is passed and comes into force, the Perlis amendment as well as other provisions in the other six states and the Federal Territories requiring only either parent’s consent will be null and void. The objective of this paper is to examine the provisions of unilateral conversion of each state and the extent of its conflicts with the proposed federal law amendment. The study adopts qualitative approach where data are collected through library research and contents analysis method. The research findings revealed that all state Islamic laws that currently allow children to be unilaterally converted to Islam may be declared as null and void because it is in conflict with Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill 2016.