Malaysian Law of One Parent Consent for Child’s Religious Conversion Draws Major Criticism

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | June 29, 2013 7:22 PM IST

Malaysia's new bill that says the consent of one parent is enough for the religious conversion of a child has drawn opposition from various groups of the country.

The amendments put forward in the Malaysian parliament of one parent consent for conversion goes against the 2009 government legislation which clearly stated both parents' approval is a must for the mentioned process.

However, the Malay-language text of the law has mentioned that the approval of "mother or father or guardian" is enough for the conversion of a minor, who is below 18, drawing criticisms from several quarters.

Inter-faith group, Malaysian Consultative Council Of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism said in a statement, "Any conversion of a minor by a single parent will cause serious injustice to the non-converting parent and the children of the marriage. Such conversions are not only unconstitutional but are morally and ethically wrong."

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/484677/20130629/malaysia-one-parent-consent-conversion-opposition.htm

This comes up sometimes in U.S. custody cases. Here, the courts never decide in a given case which religion (or irreligion) is in the child's best interest. Instead, they make a determination as to which parent is better equipped to make that decision for the child, and award legal custody to that parent.