KOTA KINABALU: Marriages that begin in the civil court should end in the same court, Minister in Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said.

"It is my personal opinion that if the marriage was legalised in a civil court, it should end in a civil court, regardless of religious conversion, and vice versa for the syariah court."

He was commenting on the statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that those who choose to convert must inform their family first.

"It's a start, but the proposed law (Marriage Reform Act) should be studied further, openly discussed and carried through.

"The law must provide for everyone and take into consideration all sides," he added.
Dompok was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Upko members at the party headquarters in Dongonggong yesterday.

Among the issues that were discussed included the recent meeting with the prime minister, long-standing issues such as illegal immigrants in Sabah, the poverty rate and the unequal rate of development between Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula.

He also brought up issues like the function of the Federal Development Department, Borneonisation and Petronas' investment in Sabah.

"We hope that he (Abdullah) will consider Sabah's proposals in his future policies and programmes after hearing from us," he said.

When asked how confident he was that the federal government would honour its promises, he said that the party would be closely monitoring the news to ensure that remedies were carried out.

"The political landscape has undergone a lot of modifications and the rakyat have made their message loud and clear.

"I am confident in Upko's determination in monitoring new policies," he said.