Amendment will allow converts to file divorce in civil courts

2009/11/24

KUALA LUMPUR: 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, Senior Federal Counsel Mohamad Naser Disa said. He said, 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," he said in a special briefing on laws pertaining to religious conversion at the Federal Territory Mosque here today.

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

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

Mohamad Naser said the proposed amendment also included giving the civil courts the power to decide on matters pertaining to the division of jointly acquired matrimonial property (harta sepencarian), alimony and child custody, as well as to prohibit the mother or father from registering the religious conversion of their children.

He added that 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.
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.

He added that sub-section 46(2) of the act would deleted to avoid overlapping of jurisdiction between the syariah and civil courts.

Also present at the briefing were Malaysian Muslim Welfare Organisation (Perkim) secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Othman, Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) director Datuk Che Mat Che Ali and syariah officer at the Attorney-General''s Chambers, Abd Walid Abu Hassan.
-- BERNAMA