Proposed amendments to solve conversion problem

/* November 24th, 2009 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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The proposed amendments are being drafted now, after so many cases of conversion that left families in tatters. Some of the suggestions were presented today in a session for the religious entities like Malaysian Muslim Welfare Organisation (Perkim), Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi), and Attorney-General’s Chambers, among others:

1. The proposed amendment to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1967 is to allow Muslim converts to file for divorce in the civil courts. Currently, the law was only applicable to non-Muslims.

“It (amendment) is meant to avoid Muslim converts from being abused by their spouses who refuse to file the petition for divorce, (but) with the amendment, they (converts) can do so in the civil courts,” senior federal counsel Mohamad Naser Disa said in a special briefing on laws pertaining to religious conversion at the Federal Territory Mosque today.

The proposed amendment would also affect the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 and the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984.


2. The amendment also aimed to make effective the annulment of a civil marriage to three months after the conversion of a spouse to Islam.

3. Giving the civil courts the power to decide on matters pertaining to the division of jointly acquired matrimonial property, alimony and child custody.

4. Giving the civil courts the power to prohibit the mother or father from registering the religious conversion of their children.

5. The amendment would also give power to the civil courts to administer assets belonging to a Muslim convert who died before the annulment of his civil marriage.

“This is to avoid a tussle for the body of the convert,” he said.

6. Mohamed Naser said Section 14 of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 would be amended to give power to the syariah court judge to allow a convert to marry.


7. Sub-section 46(2) of the Act would be deleted to avoid overlapping of jurisdiction between the syariah and civil courts.

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Two acts of charity for school kids

/* November 24th, 2009 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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Two good news from the Star today. As school children are getting ready to go back to school,  one group donated school bags and stuff to 1000 students, while another sponsored 40 spectacles for children.

News 1:

ABOUT 1,000 poor pupils received school bags, shoes and stationery at an event orgainsed by the Petaling Jaya Old Town Sun Tau Jing Sheh temple, in partnership with the Yayasan Maha Karuna Educare programme.

“We are giving these items to the children to encourage them to work study harder,” said organising chairman Jacob Chan Teng Meng, during the event at the temple in Jalan 1/15 recently.
Education aid: (Back row from left) Chan, Sun Tau Jing Sheh Abbot Venerable Shi Kai Shan and Saranankara with the children who received the schoolbags.

Yayasan Maha Karuna founder Ven B. Sri Saranankara Nayaka Maha Thera said the Educare programme was started in 2001 and they aimed to help about 5,000 children each year.

He added that they helped children irrespective of their race or religion.

“We are not only working with temples but also NGOs.

“Our objective is to encourage the public to start their own initiatives to help the poor in their own community,” he said.

The pupils were from SJK(C) Choong Wen, SJK(C) Yak Chee, SJK(C) Chen Moh PJ, SJK(C) Yuk Kuan, SJK(C) Han Meng, SJK(T) Kinrara, SK(1) Petaling Jaya, SK Petaling Jaya, SR Sathya Sai, SJK(T) Vivekananda and SJK(C) Chung Hwa Damansara.

The children, whose parents were from the low-income group, were recommended by their respective schools.

News 2:

THE SJK (Tamil) Rawang Parents-Teacher Association (PIBG) sponsored spectacles for 40 children with poor eyesight.

Its chairman, C. Pamarasivam, said the children who received the spectacles were from poor families.

“Because it is expensive to buy spectacles, the PIBG allocated RM120 for each pupil.
Part of school programme: A pupil getting his eyes checked.

“Many teachers have complained about pupils having poor eyesight. Further checks revealed that some pupils are shortsighted while others are longsighted.

“Some cases are very bad. Many parents just could not afford to buy spectacles for their children and we decided to do so,” said Paramasivam who was present during an eye check-up programme at the school recently.

About 1,600 pupils in the school had a free eye check up.

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Finally, they get some hope…

/* November 24th, 2009 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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Not sure if readers remember the case of Bukit Kiara estate residents. After 23 years of staying TEMPORARILY in longhouses, there’s a glimmer of hope for them. Still need to wait two years (in time for next GE) for their actual own houses. Hopefully it will be a dream come true for them.

TAMIL Nesan reported that Bukit Kiara Estate residents who have been living in temporary longhouses for the past 23 years will be able to move into new houses in the next two years.

Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk M. Saravanan said the workers were moved to the longhouses after the estate was taken over by the Government for redevelopment.

They were promised houses and the longhouses were for an interim period of two years but the workers had been staying there for the past 23 years.

Saravanan said the 103 families would be given houses as promised. He said three locations had been identified within a 3km radius and the type of house to be built would depend on the land area.

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2 years of school for student who got 7As

/* November 23rd, 2009 by poobalan | View blog reactions 2 comments »
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Saw the repeat of Vizhuthugal on Astro just now. There was an interview with Darvin Raj from SJKT Teluk Datuk who got 7As. Big deal, you may say. But his story is not the average one. He was a leukemia patient who went to school in Standard One for few months. After that, he stopped schooling due to treatment until 10 years old. He reentered school in Standard Five. Aided by his mother and teachers, the boy got 7As for his UPSR. Sadly his mother is not around as she succumbed to kidney failure.

The boy hopes to grow up and do seva via his occupation. God bless him!

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lady was converted by father, not at welfare home

/* November 23rd, 2009 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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Few days ago, we read about the lady who claimed she was converted at the age of seven while staying in a welfare home. Today, the Welfare Department said that her father was a convert who converted the children. Now she has to go through an arduous process of changing the religious status before can continue her life with husband and children.

Housewife S Banggarma was converted to Islam by her father and not by state religious authorities as alleged, said welfare department director-general Meme Zainal Rashid today.

Previously, the 27-year-old mother of two claimed that she had been unwittingly converted at the age of seven when residing at the Taman Bakti welfare home in Kepala Batas, Penang.

NONEIn a statement, Meme (right) said the Penang state welfare department had investigated the case after it was highlighted in the media.

According to records, she said Banggarma was converted to Islam by her natural father along with her other siblings on Nov 30, 1983.

This was stated on the conversion acknowledgment letter by both her mother and father filed with Islamic authorities in Rompin, Pahang.

“She was only placed in a welfare home from March 1990 by court order under the Juvenile Courts Act of 1947 for her own protection, after she was found wandering aimlessly in Sungai Petani, Kedah,” said Meme.

NONE“The accusation that she was converted to Islam while under the care of the welfare department has been proven to be false.

“The documentary evidence proves she was already a Muslim before she was placed in the welfare home,” she added.

Banggarma (left), whose Muslim name is Siti Hasnah Vangarama Abdullah, said she discovered her Muslim status when seeking to register her marriage in 2000.

As to the current religious status of Banggarma, Meme said: “It is now in the hands of the Penang Islamic authorities.”

‘Free to turn apostate’

The Penang Islamic Council (MAIPP) president Shabudin Yahaya confirmed that they are also investigating the case.

“As far as we are concerned, she is a Muslim. Whether she is practising or not, is not the question. What matters is that she has taken the Shahadah or the ritual testament of faith.

NONE“But Hasnah (Banggarma) is free to turn apostate and leave the Islamic faith, though she will have to undergo the standard procedure,” he said.

Shabudin said that the procedure may involve counselors from the Penang Islamic department who will provide counseling and ascertain her claims.

However, the MAIPP president cautioned that this process is not to encourage those who want to leave the Muslim faith, but the procedure exist for cases such as this.

He likened Banggarma’s case to the Fatimah Tan case earlier this year, where Muslim convert Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah was allowed to renounce Islam and revert to her original religion of Buddhism.

On the status of her current marriage, Shabudin said this has to be decided by the Syariah courts, as legally Banggarma is considered a Muslim.

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