Indira Gandhi devastated by govt decision to withdraw clause to stop unilateral conversion

KUALA LUMPUR: M. Indira Gandhi has expressed her devastation over the government's decision to withdraw the amendment to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill 2016 (LRA).
The kindergarten teacher who was embroiled in a bitter custody battle with her Muslim convert ex-husband for eight years, said she felt the promises made by the government to alleviate her suffering had not been kept.
"I have been to the courts and Parliament, and I have also seen so many MPs about this matter, hoping that I would get a solution and justice.
"This is heartbreaking and I cannot even see my future and my children's. Where should I go from here now? What is the solution for people like me?" Indira told a press conference at the Parliament building here on Wednesday.
Indira added that she was back to square one in her custody battle with her ex-husband.
"My daughter is still missing, I do not know her whereabouts and she was taken without my consent.
"It has been eight hears and I have not seen her once. Any mother should not go through what I have been through.
The LRA was tabled on Wednesday without a clause that would in effect ban the unilateral conversion of minors should a parent decide to convert to Islam.
The new bill will not have Clause 88A which allows a child to remain in his or her original religion despite the conversion of a parent to Islam.
The original bill with the clause, which was to have been tabled, was withdrawn on Monday by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
Azalina said the government's decision to remove the clause was due to four court decisions which are now in conflict with it.
The four court decisions – three from the Federal Court and one from the Court of Appeal – bind the interpretation of "parent" as singular in Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution.