TWO UNIVERSAL RIGHTS
K Kasturi Dewi reports in The Star, Thursday, 5 August 2010:
A housewife questioning the validity of her conversion to Islam when she was seven years old failed in her bid to have her case heard by a civil court.
Justice Yaacob Md Sam dismissed Siti Hasnah Vangarama Abdullah’s originating summons with costs yesterday, after ruling that the High Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear her case.
“The action brought by the plaintiff is of a subject matter exclusively for the Syariah Court,” he said in his decision.
Siti Hasnah, 28, named as defendants Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his capacity as Muslim Welfare Organisation (Perkim) chairman, Perkim officer Raimi Abdullah, the Penang Islamic Religious Council and the George Town Kadi.
She had sought a declaration from the court that her conversion to Islam was invalid.
She had also asked the court to instruct the National Registration Department to change her religion and her Muslim name to a Hindu one in her MyKad.
Justice Yaacob said the defendants had shown sufficient documents that Siti Hasnah’s parents had converted to Islam in Pahang in 1983 and subsequently converted their five children.
“The court agrees with the defendants that either the parents or a caretaker has the right to determine the religion of a child or children of minor age. This is a universal right of a parent, irrespective of what the religion is,” he said.
We agree with the judge that “either the parents or a caretaker has the right to determine the religion of a child or children of minor age. This is a universal right of a parent, irrespective of what the religion is”.
Whilst not referring directly to the above court case, we also need to be reminded of another universal right (Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 18).
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion: this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief…”
These two universal rights can be summed up in 9 words:
PARENTS DECIDE FOR THEIR CHILDREN, ADULTS DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES.
Outside the court, Siti Hasnah said “I am not a Muslim, I was born a Hindu and I will die a Hindu.”
She has made her decision and this decision has the right to be respected.
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
