Thursday 10 August 2017

森州行动党州委陈丽群文告

英德拉案:未成年改教事件——漫漫八年遥遥无期的等待

英德拉事件的缘起发生于2009年4月3日,当时,两名姐弟,12岁的博拉莎娜和她十一岁的弟弟,被他们的父亲拐带(他在2009年3月11日,利用两姐弟的报生纸张改信伊教)。这起事件,是少数几宗有关改的教案件中,在大马掀开宪政危机。

行动党国会议员古拉在过去,曾无数次的在国会提出这宗改教事件,并阐述未改教的夫妻一方并未获得法定的追诉权,内阁也因为此事,即刻成立了一个高层内阁委员会调查此事。

2009年4月,司法部长拿督斯里纳兹里在国会中表示,一对离异的夫妻,其子女应该跟随父母在结婚时所信奉的宗教,内阁也对此决定发出政令。

担任英德拉的辩护律师的古拉,在2010年三月份再次在国会中再次提出有关单方面改信伊教的所产生的问题,尽管如此,大马警方拒绝执行庭令,以让该对姐弟回归非改教方的母亲抚养。

离开纳兹里发出的内阁政令已经八年,国会终于敲锣打鼓的提呈《婚姻与离婚法令》修正案,以禁止2017年4月6日的单方面改教的事件再度发生。很不幸的是,该法案的辩论环节因哈迪的私人提案《355法令修正案》而被展延,纵使家暴法令修正案也因此而被展延,让路给355法令修正案的辩论。

我们抱着亢奋和惶恐的心情,等待着《婚姻与离婚法》修正案再次被提呈,可是,在8月9日那天,我们惊觉该法案中有关单方面改教的条款被移除,此时,我们仿佛被浇了一盆冷水。《婚姻法》所授予的权力,将会是一大迈进,因为父亲再也无法在躲藏在伊教法庭后面,而这项修正案的巨大影响是全所未见的。

尽管如此,我们有理由相信,内阁中的有些极端人士,反对修正案中的有关单方面改教的条款,最终,他们终于妥协最终的修正案内容。

新闻报道声称这是内阁一致同意的决定,而同一个内阁却也曾发出政令反对单方面改教,一对离异夫妻的子女需以改教前的宗教抚养长大。

首相署部长阿莎莉娜说的对,她说,改教一方如果要离婚,必须面对民事庭,阿莎莉娜说,他们应该『敢作敢当』面对这些问题。

纳兹里还给了一个理由单薄的藉口,他说,在修正单方面改教条款前,需对宪法第12条4款中阐明的“parent”一词需提呈修正,尽管在宪法第160条中阐明:『名词中的单数包含复数,而名词中的复数包含单数。』(words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular)

我建议阿莎莉娜劝告她的内阁成员,尤其是纳兹里和内阁特工队成员,比如说廖中莱、,约瑟雅谷、苏巴马廉、纳兹里和嘉米尔,当个『男子汉』,为英德拉这样的无助妈妈抗争,而不是保护那些像巴马那兰(K Pathmanathan)或改教后改名为李杜安阿都拉(Muhammad Riduan Abdullah)的男子,躲藏在伊庭后面,取得他们子女单方面改教的抚养权。

Nicole Tan Lee Koon
LLB (Hons) London, LLM (Malaya), CLP
DAP Wanita National Executive Committee (NEC) member 
DAP Negeri Sembilan State Committee
Political Secretary to Member of Parliament of Rasah 

Whatsapp : 019-6532977
Facebook : Nicole Tan Lee Koon(陳麗群), the social politico 
Twitter : loyarbaik

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Unilateral conversion - 8 years and counting

Indira Gandhi's case - Unilateral conversion of minors : eight years and counting

The saga of Indira Gandhi started with the abduction of a 11 months old Prasana and the unilateral conversion of Prasana, her 12 years old sister and her 11 years old brother on 3 April 2009 by their father (converted to Muslim on 11 March 2009) using their birth certificates. This case was one of a few cases that sparked a constitutional crisis pertaining to unilateral conversion across Malaysia.

DAP MP, Kulasegaran raised this issue of unilateral conversion in Parliament many times as more often than not the non-converting spouse has no legal recourse. A high level Cabinet committee was formed almost immediately. On April 2009,  the then de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Nazri stated in Parliament that children of an estranged couple should remain in the religion of the parents at the point of marriage and a Cabinet directive was issued to the effect. As a lawyer who has been fighting for Indira Gandhi, Kulasegaran had once again in March 2010 called on the Malaysian lawmakers in Parliament to address the issue of problems resulting from unilateral conversions to Islam. However, the Malaysian police refused to execute the civil court orders to restore custody of the child(ren) back to non-converting parent.

Eight years have passed since the Cabinet directive was announced by Nazri and we were elated to find out that the Parliament was going to table the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill ("LRAA Bill") to ban unilateral conversion in 6th April 2017. Unfortunately, the debate of the said Bill was deferred in order to debate RUU 355, Hadi's Private Member's Bill. Even the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill was deferred to give precedence to RUU 355. All the more reason to have more female Members of Parliament. #feminism

We contained our elation and waited in trepidation for the LRAA Bill to be tabled on August 9 and our elation was cut short when we found out that the unilateral conversion clause was removed from the LRAA Bill. Granted that the LRAA Bill is a major step forward in that the father cannot hide behind the Syariah courts anymore and that the Bill has a retrospective effect which is unprecedented. However, we have strong reasons to believe that the ultras in the Cabinet objected to the inclusion of the unilateral conversion clause and a deal was made for the ultras to agree to the adoption of the Bill. It was also reported to be a unanimous Cabinet decision. The very same Cabinet who issued the directive against unilateral conversion i.e children of  estranged couples would be raised up in the religion prior to conversion.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department AzalinaOthman Said rightly said that those who convert to Islam must face the civil courts if they want to dissolve their marriage. Azalina said that they should be "jantan" enough to face it. 

Nazri came up with a flimsy excuse that the word "parent" in Article 12(4) of  the Federal Constitution needs to be amended first before we can include the unilateral conversion clause even though Article 160 of the Federal Constitution states that the "words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular". 

Can I suggest to Azalina to advise all her cabinet colleagues, especially Nazri and the Cabinet task force members like Liow Tiong Lai, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom to be "jantan" enough to defend helpless mothers like Indira Gandhi who are victimised by cowardly husbands like K Pathmanathan aka Muhammad Riduan Abdullah who hide behind the Syariah Court to gain custody of their children by unilaterally converting the religion of  their children. 

Nicole Tan Lee Koon
LLB (Hons) London, LLM (Malaya), CLP
DAP Wanita National Executive Committee (NEC) member 
DAP Negeri Sembilan State Committee
Political Secretary to Member of Parliament of Rasah 

Whatsapp : 019-6532977
Facebook : Nicole Tan Lee Koon(陳麗群), the social politico 
Twitter : loyarbaik