Its president Zainul Rijal Abdul Bakar said the tribunal would be the best platform for the judges to sit together and settle the matter in the best interests of the children.
The tribunal suggestion was sparked by the recent Court of Appeal decision in the case of kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi whose children were converted to Islam by her ex-husband K Patmanathan, who left her and became a Muslim under the name Muhammad Riduan Abdullah.
“This is a family matter. Instead of bringing the case to the court with strict procedures, a tribunal can find a better solution in a more informal and flexible way,” he said.
Zainul Rijal, who is also a syariah lawyer, told reporters this after his session on Religious and Children’s Rights in Malaysia at the International Islamic University Malaysia’s International Convention on Wisdom here today.
He added that the proposed tribunal, which was suggested two years ago to the government, attorney-general’s chambers and the minister responsible, would also deal with disputes involving Muslims and non-Muslims.
During a question-and-answer session, Zainul Rijal said amending the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act and Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 would also help resolve such disputes.
Without the willingness to amend such laws, he said the problem would go on indefinitely since Malaysia had a dual law system.
Meanwhile, Swedish lawyer, Kristofer Stahre, who was also the defence counsel for a Malaysian couple in a child abuse case in Sweden, said the ban on corporal punishment in home environments had proven to be a powerful way of changing attitudes in society.
He said the ban, introduced in the Parental Code in 1979, was combined with support and services to families with children to decrease the actual use of physical punishment.
“It must also be noted that the arguments raised in Sweden before the ban, which are more or less the same as those put forward in other countries today, have to a large extent been proven to be incorrect.
“Cases of parents using physical force against children often happens in Sweden. However, when the case involved a Tourism Malaysia director in Stockholm and his wife, a school teacher, the case received huge publicity.
“This is because it involved Malaysians and people were curious to know why the diplomat and his wife did not follow the local laws regarding physical force on children,” he said.
– BERNAMA