‘Children of divorced parents must be raised in original religion’

(The Star) – The children of divorced parents where one has converted into another religion have to be raised in the common religion at the time of marriage until they come of age, the Cabinet has decreed.

“Muslim converts would still have to fulfil their marriage responsibilities and their children brought up in the common religion (both parents subscribed to) at the time of their marriage,” Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz said on Thursday.

“Religion should not be used as a tool to escape marital responsibilities. Conversion is not a grounds for automatic dissolution of a marriage either,” he added.

The religious conversion issue came to the Cabinet’s attention on April 15 involving a specific case.

Indra Ghandhi, 35, had sought the help of the Hindu Sangam branch in Ipoh after her husband K. Patmanathan, now Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, converted their three children without their presence and without informing her.

He allegedly used the children’s birth certificates to get them converted. The youngest child is said to be in the father's custody.