Why the 3 bills have not been tabled in Parliament?

For quite some time over the last few years many families had to under go a lot of pain and uncertainty when it is found a bit too late one of the family member is found to have converted to Islam. No one objects to conversion per se. But the problem starts when only upon death the remaining members of the deceased find out about the conversion. By that time, it is too late and resorting to civil courts delivers little or no help at all.

Worse still are, cases involving minor children of families. The most recent is the case of Indira Gandhi 35 a mother of 3 children. The youngest child is only 14 months old and the mother was still breast feeding her child. But when the marriage was breaking up the father of the children embraced Islam and he converted his 3 children too. The father “kidnapped” the 14 months old child and in the process beat up his wife Indria Gandhi.

The Syariah (muslim) court gave custody of the children to the father. The civil court was of little help but recorded an interim consent order as regards the 2 elder children and as regards the youngest the custody lays with the father.

Many non-muslims know that the civil courts take along time to settle matrimonial matters. In the process some for personal reasons find a easier way out to embrace Islam and complicate the whole issue.

On the 16th of May I raised on my adjournment speech that the cabinet direct on “conversion case” is both ineffective and useless. The cabinet direct was supposedly to bring about a permanent settlement in case of conversion.

When this matter was raised, the de facto Minister of Law YB Dato Seri Nazri replied that the government will present 3 bills to Parliament for all the laws on conversion to be consistent so that innocent parties who are not converted will be accorded protection.

We have only 3 more days for Parliament to sit and to date the bills have not been tabled. This delay are unacceptable more so when Nazri acknowledge that the draft was ready way back in 2007.
I will raise this non tabling of the bills at the earliest opportunity in Parliament. Even if the bill are tabled at such a late hour we are all denied from getting inputs from our constituents by reason of constrain of time.
My adjournment speech and reply can be read here :http://www.parlimen.gov.my.my/hindex/pdf/DR-16062009.pdf