The party’s Wanita Chief Heng Seai Kie, in a statement, explained that this was because there were reformatory classes to attend and even penalties imposed when a person decided to leave Islam.
The former Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister cited a judgement in the 2006 Nyonya Tahir case where it was said that apostasy was punishable by death.
The Syariah Court however declared that Nyonya was a non-Muslim at the time of her death.
Heng also recalled the case of Revathi Masoosai who despite being born to Muslim convert parents, was raised as a Hindu by her grandmother.
However, Heng noted, in 2007, against her will, Revathi was detained for six months at the Pusat Pemurnian Akidah Baitul Iman, Ulu Yam Baru, to reform her faith in Islam as ordered by the Malacca Syariah Court.
Revathi is reported to have claimed that the centre’s enforcers had forced her to don the tudung and eat beef – meat which Hindus are averse to.
Heng was commenting on the recommendation by the Malaysian Syariah Lawyers Association president Musa Awang who stated that unilaterally converted minors may apply to the Syariah court to declare they were no longer Muslims when they were 18.
Musa’s statement was made following the case of M Indira Gandhi — a Hindu mother– and her legal challenge to reverse the unilateral religious conversion of her three children by her Muslim convert ex-husband after losing in a 2-1 decision at the Court of Appeal yesterday.
Such an application at the Syariah court, Heng added, would only further jeopardise the non-Muslim status of a minor who was converted to Islam without his or her knowledge or against his or her will.
“For a minor child who converted on paper by his Muallaf parent to seek redress at the age of 18 years at the Syariah court, is self-defeatist as such an action will only serve to self-reconfirm his or her religious status as a Muslim.”
Heng said all states should learn from Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan who had last year proposed that the state government will compel married non-Muslims wanting to embrace Islam to formally divorce their spouse and make a statutory declaration first.
The wing also urged all states religious departments to adhere to the April 2009 Cabinet decision not to issue any conversion certificates for minor children when only one spouse was present.