Malaysia's High Court Misses Opportunity to Rule on Religious Freedom
Washington, D.C. (November 18, 2010) - The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) expressed disappointment over the opportunity missed by Malaysia’s highest court to rule on the issue of religious conversion of children by one parent.
In a 5-0 ruling last Friday, the High Court dismissed the suit brought by a Hindu mother claiming that a previous court order forcing her to raise her children as Muslims violated her rights. S. Shamala, the Hindu mother, was under a court order after her Hindu-turned-Muslim and now ex-husband converted their children to Islam without her knowledge or consent. In 2004, and in violation of the court order, Shamala fled to Australia with her sons and has been there since. In the ruling, Chief Justice Zaki Asmi stated that Shamala would have to return to Malaysia to receive protection from the government. In a television interview, Shamala’s counsel told reporters this was a “golden opportunity” the High Court had missed to rule on the pressing issue of unilateral religious conversion of children by one parent -- a decision that was eagerly anticipated by affected families throughout Malaysia.
“It is inconceivable that in the 21st century the High-Court of Malaysia cannot see the current circumstances faced by the children and families of interfaith marriages,” said Prof. Ramesh Rao, HAF’s Human Rights Coordinator. “Unfortunately, the violation of constitutional rights of minorities, especially Hindus, in Malaysia have become commonplace in what was once a pluralistic society.”
Highlighting a growing trend of the justice system denying Hindus and other minorities in Malaysia their religious rights, Rao pointed to two fairly recent cases. In 2007, Subashini Rajasingam, another Hindu mother, lost an appeal to prevent her husband and recent Muslim convert from changing their four-year-old son's religion to Islam against her wishes. Malaysia’s High Court also granted an unobstructed right to the husband to use the Shariah-based court for a divorce with no consideration of Rajasingam’s religion. Earlier this year, Malaysia’s High Court denied 28 year-old Siti Hasnah Banggarma the right to change her religion back to Hinduism. Banggarma, born a Hindu, claimed that state authorities had forcibly converted her to Islam at the age of seven while she was under the care of a government-run orphanage.