New bill not fair to non-Muslims, says Nazri Aziz

Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz stands by his 2009 decision that unilateral conversion of minors to Islam should not be allowed.

He said the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Bill was unfair to non-Muslims and stressed that the consent of both parents is needed in conversion of minors.

This raises the question if proper consultations were carried out in Cabinet before the Bill was tabled.

"As a lawyer and a Muslim, I am not comfortable with this situation,” said the Tourism Minister commenting on the Bill, which was tabled in Parliament last week.

"To me, it is not fair to say that only one parent can determine the child’s religion even though the parent had converted to Islam," he said.

Nazri was the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in 2009 when the government decided then that unilateral conversions should not be allowed.