Two-thirds Parliament majority needed to solve unilateral conversion, says Najib

Asila Jalil Diyana Ibrahim Asila Jalil, Diyana Ibrahim Updated 8 years ago · Published on 4 Sep 2017 10:37PM · 3 Comments

Prime Minister Najib Razak says two-thirds majority in Parliament is needed to amend the Federal Constitution so that Clause 88A can be reinserted into the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, September 4, 2017.

A TWO-thirds majority in Parliament is needed to amend the constitution in relation to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill (LRA), said Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“We need maturity and two-thirds majority to change the Constitution but I do not have this,” Najib said when addressing the issue during a National Transformation 2050 (TN50) dialogue with women in conjunction with National Women’s Day.

He was responding to a question from a representative from the National Council  of Women’s Organisations Malaysia (NCWO), who requested for the government to bring back Clause 88A of the LRA andt for it to be tabled in the upcoming Parliamentary sitting.

Clause 88A states that the religion of the child should remain in the religion he or she was raised in before one parent converted to Islam and can choose his or her own religion at the age of 18.

“The issue of 88A is a critical issue (involving women) and we want it to be tabled again in the next Parliamentary sitting in September,” said the delegate from NCWO.

On August 7, the government withdrew the LRA, which was scheduled for its second reading after being tabled for the first time in November last year.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman reportedly withdrew the bill to avoid contradictions with the constitution.

On the same day it was withdrawn, Azalina said in a statement that the new bill would be tabled without Clause 88A.

She said the fresh amendments would also be in line with the courts’ decisions on the interpretation of the Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution, which states that the religion of a person under the age of 18 shall be decided by his parent or a guardian.

The bill was then passed on August 10 minus Clause 88A, which drew criticism among opposition leaders.

Azalina said the amendment aimed to provide room for couples who had converted to Islam after getting married and couples where one partner had converted to Islam, to file for divorce in the civil court.

She added that the amendment did not deny the rights of a person in the shariah courts but instead encourages a person to be more responsible by divorcing the spouse in civil court. – September 4, 2017.

Sign up or sign in here to comment.

Comments

  • Najib is worst than a common crook and liar. To begin it with a lie, it only requires interpretation of the law which an independent judiciary would have already done by now. Even if a Constitutional amendment is required, it only require a very small number of opposition support which they have already voiced they would.

    Instead what he is saying is his politics before the LIVES of innocent children and single mothers. What is so different what he did to Altantuya to every women in this country?

    Posted 8 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • Dia anggap semua orang terutamanya orang perempuan bodoh.

    Posted 8 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • A crook black mailing the victims to surrender all their last possession. If GE14 he is not toppled that is the end of Malaysia. The biggest regrets of the old fox is making him being head of the nation. His notoriety makes the "belakang mahu" orang pale in comparison. Well ..... Malaysian we asked for it.

    Posted 8 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply