BOPIM to go to court if child conversion Bill is passed -- Jambun

KOTA KINABALU: The Borneo Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BOPIM) has decided to take the same stance as Gerakan that if the proposed amendment to Section 107(b) of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) is passed, it will go to court to sue the Federal Government.

The amendments, hinging on the use of the word ‘parent’ instead of ‘parents’, makes it legal for a father or a mother, or guardian, who converts to Islam, to convert to Islam his or her children below the age of 18.

The President of the UK-based foundation, Daniel John Jambun, said in statement here that this decision is based purely on the pursuit and preservation of justice for non-Muslims in Malaysia which is guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

Jambun said that this Bill is in direct contravention of the Constitution, and for Sabahans, it is another violation of a promise made before Malaysia Day in the 20 Points which states in Point No. 1 that "... there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo."

"And what is distasteful is the statement by the Deputy Prime Minister that this amendment is to be made in line with current guidelines. This is just an excuse and if there are such guidelines then they are illegal too," Jambun said. "The other nonsensical defence is by Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria who said that the Bill was only formalizing a standard practice which was agreed upon 'since Merdeka Day'. This is actually an admittance by the Mufti that there has been such an illegal and unconstitutional practice since 1957."

Jambun accuses the Mufti of twisting facts when he said that non-Muslims complaining about the Bill "only want to incite hatred towards Muslims."

"On the other hand I would say that, this Bill is purposely made in bad faith, to deny more human rights of non-Muslims in Malaysia, and in doing so, it incites great disappointment and frustration among non-Muslims," Jambun said. "And when we try to protect our rights we are accused of inciting hatred. This is pure hypocrisy expressed in reverse psychology! But we are not stupid!

"I salute Dompok for his strong stance in objecting to Bill saying that it runs counter to the Government's transformation plans, especially the 1Malaysia concept of acceptance, inclusiveness and moderation. And I hand over BOPIM's applauses to  the Roman Catholic Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing for describing the Bill  as a 'flagrant violation of the equality of persons’ provisions of the federal constitution'."

The latest to voice opposition to the Bill came yesterday from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low who demanded that the provision under Clause 107B be struck off because "it is fundamentally unjust as it denies the rights of one parent on the welfare of his or her children, and the children are also denied the protection of their right to receive guidance from both parents as to their well-being.”

"I also agree that there may be a hidden diabolical intent in the whole move," Jambun said. "Let's be aware that under the Guardianship of Infants Act which applies to non-Muslims, both parents are equal guardians of their children and have equal parental rights. However, under Syariah laws in Malaysia, fathers are the guardians of minor children – not the mothers.

"This proposed law then is one which will rob children of their human right to choose their religion when they reach 18 years of age," Jambun added. "And it seems that this is intended as another diabolic agenda to suppress non-Muslims."

Jambun was also highly critical of the other Christian KDM leaders in the Federal Cabinet who are keeping mum on the issue.

"These leaders were voted into office by their constituents to protect their rights and to speak on their behalf. But why are they playing dumb?" Jambun demanded. "Why is Dompok the only KDM BN leader speaking for the non-Muslim KDMs? Have the other KDM leaders decided to go into another dumb and dumber act, fearing for the security of their favours in BN?

"This has been the attitude and cowardly character of most leaders from Sabah since 1963, and this is the real reason we are in this situation where we continue to be bullied by Peninsular leaders who take us for granted. They still believe we are too scared to speak up for our rights," Jambun said. "And these leaders are proving that this assumption is right."