1. Worldwide Religious News (http://wwrn.org)
"Malaysian Islamic body rejects proposed conversion rule meant to ease religious tensions", 1 May 2008
(AP) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Islamic authorities rejected a proposal by Malaysia's prime minister that would have required non-Muslims to tell their families before converting to Islam.
The decision, announced Tuesday, was made at a meeting of Islamic authorities, according to Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz, director-general of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department. The failure by many converts to inform their families of their conversion has led to many disputes. Islamic officials have sometimes seized bodies for Muslim funerals, while non-Muslim relatives insisted the deceased never converted.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the government would soon require Muslim converts to produce documents showing they had told their family members.
The move was considered an attempt to calm ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities over perceived religious discrimination, which led to heavy losses for Abdullah's ruling National Front coalition in general elections last month.
Ethnic Chinese and Indians make up more than 30 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people and are mainly Buddhist, Christian and Hindu. They complain that court decisions in religious disputes favor Muslims _ who account for more than 60 percent and are mainly ethnic Malay.
Islam is the official Malaysian religion. Non-Muslims can practice their religion, but often lose out in interfaith disputes involving Islam.
・Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
2．Express India(http://www.expressindia.com)
'Conversion to Islam should not be abused in Malaysia', 2 May 2008
Kuala Lumpur: A leader of a multi-religious body in Malaysia has demanded that the government act urgently to remedy legal loopholes so that citizens could freely profess their faith while preserving family harmony.
"Conversion to Islam should not be abused as a means to evade one's legal obligations to one's family. A person's conversion to another religion should not cause pain and suffering for other members of the family," said A. Vaithilingam, President of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCBCHST).
Vaithilingam in a statement said anyone who converted to Islam should have the legal right to revert to his or her former religion without any legal impediments. He asked all state governments and the federal authorities to act urgently to remedy the loopholes in the law so that Malaysians could freely profess and practise their religions in peace, while preserving family harmony as far as possible, media reports said in Kuala Lumpur.
The leader of MCBCHST underlined that a person's non-Muslim family should not be disinherited simply because of that person's conversion to Islam. Instead, the person's Muslim and non-Muslim dependents must share his estate equitably.
The organisation praised the observations of a Malaysian Chinese leader that those who converted to Islam through marriage should be allowed to revert back to their religion in case the marriage failed. The Council said Malaysian Chinese Association President Ong Ka Ting's remarks about Muslim converts in Parliament was a sentiment shared by all "right thinking Malaysians from all religions."
Malaysia's 27 million population comprises 60 percent Malays who are all Muslims, 25 percent Chinese who are mostly Christians or Buddhists and 7.8 percent ethnic Indians, a majority of whom are Hindus.
Malaysian Chinese Association chief Ong told parliament on Wednesday that in case of one parent embracing Islam, the religion of the child who is a minor must be decided by both parents or remain status quo until the child reaches the age of 18. He said in the last three years, Malaysia, a multi-religious, multi-ethnic country, had witnessed an unprecedented number of religious matters involving constitutional rights of non-Muslims. Such cases involved divorce, custody of children and inheritance.
In another observation, Ong had told parliament that Malaysia's judiciary should be more multi-racial to reflect the ethnic composition of the country.
He said this would enable the perception that judges were not able to adjudicate fairly and impartially when faced with sensitive issues be corrected.
Currently, magistrates and Sessions Court judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, media reports said.
（End)
