KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has not been invited for a dialogue with the government over the proposed amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976.
Its deputy president Datuk R.S. Mohan Shan said the body could not give its approval on the changes made to the Act as they have not been consulted on, or seen, the draft proposals.
"We welcome the announcement made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that amendments to the Act must be made.
"Rumours have been going around that the draft had gotten the approval of MCCBCHST – but until today, we haven't seen any amendment draft, therefore we can't agree (to anything) without seeing the draft first.
“We’ve also heard that the draft will be tabled in the cabinet meeting tomorrow," he said at a press conference today.
On Aug 25, Najib announced that the cabinet had agreed to table a proposal to amend the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 in the next Parliament sitting.
Najib had said the move was part of the government's efforts to address religious conversion issues, adding that the proposal to amend the law would be coordinated as soon as possible by the Home Ministry.