Gerakan Youth said it will support Pakatan Rakyat MPs if they table a Private Member’s Bill to amend the law relating to inter-faith custody issues.

Its deputy chief Andy Yong said amendment to Section 15 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 is long overdue.

"Amendments, not only on Section 51, should spell out clearly and unambiguously that such issue (custody dispute between Muslim and non-Muslim parents and unilateral conversions of children) is to be dealt with by the civil court.

"This is a long outstanding issue need to be resolved and required the support of two third of the parliamentarians to amend Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution," he said.

Yong (right), a lawyer, said that failure to resolve issues of unilateral conversion at the courts has resulted in "social injustice".

"(This) violates the rights of the non-converting parent; hence lawmakers should look into this matter seriously once and for all."

Pakatan MPs yesterday said it is considering moving a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Act to solve interfaith custody battles.

It said it will do so if the government does not table amendments by the next session.

Ditch counseling requirement
 
Meanwhile, Yong also urged for amendments to Section 106, which requires parties to attend a conciliatory body or tribunal before a divorce, should also be amended.

"In my 15 years of legal practice, such requirement is waste of time and resources. This is because never once I encounter my client reconciled after attending the said tribunal," he said.

Instead, he said, the provision aggravated an already difficult process for any couple, and is especially taxing for their children.

"Quite often the counselor is not a professional or an expert," he said.

He also called for introduction of provisions which mandate that alimony and maintenance payments to be made as compulsory monthly deposits to a government department, to ensure compliance.


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