The Endangered Rights of Women in Malaysia.

By: Dr. Kamsiah Haider

A High Court in Kuala Lumpur today (February 21) will hear a plea by a Hindu woman named Loh Siew Hong who was beaten so badly by her husband, who would later be imprisoned on drug charges, that she was hospitalized. Despite that, her children were taken away from her and were later converted to Islam without her permission.

Despite the fact that a court has awarded her sole custody in 2021, her children – twin daughters and a 10-year-old son – still have not been returned to her. The case has become a cause celebre and turned a spotlight on the practice of unilateral conversion, a pernicious fact of life in Malaysia. Loh’s children are currently under the care of the Perlis Welfare Department pending the outcome of her habeas corpus application set to be heard next Monday at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

For far too many women in Malaysia – not just non-Muslim ones – what has happened to Loh Siew Hong has happened to them, which is a perversion of the teachings of the Quran. Allah repeatedly says in the Quran to show love and kindness and warns men should not harm their wives even after divorce. It doesn’t stipulate the religion of the mother but it should be a universal value to which everyone should adhere.

For all mothers who have children and are willing to bring them up despite their single marital status due to divorce or death, the idea of their child been taken away must be tormenting. We all know what a mother has to go through to bring her child to this world.

Animals know that. Try snatching a kitten or a gosling not to mention a young cub and you will know the answer. Those mothers who want to see their child grow up, go to school, graduate, get married and have their own children on her own do not want to be robbed this experience. How dare the men who made her a mother snatch away all that?

Regardless of the circumstances, mothers want their children. The religious authority in custody of Loh Siew Hong’s children couldn’t be bothered to look for the mother. They merely listened to her newly converted ex-husband who remains in jail to assume this is to the best interest of these kids and claimed that the mother of the children could not be traced.

The prerogatives of a corrupted Islam are at play here. Hello!

This is Malaysia, not some huge country with hundreds of million or billions in population. She couldn’t have been hard to find, especially since she was attempting to get them back.

What I am trying to highlight is the difficulty of dealing as a mother losing her children through the use of Islam regardless you are or not a Muslim. I know about this because it happened to me. Loh Siew Hong’s children hit the same chord under duress. After enough time with her ex-husband’s family, they said they no longer wanted to see their mother. For years, my children said the same.

I am a high-income-earner and I own my own dental practice. Although I originally had custody of my children., ultimately, through practice, I would lose it.

If that happens to me, given my status in this community, what is to happen to women like Loh? We divorced when my eldest was 12 years old and my youngest was 7. After the divorce he sought to distance himself despite our mutual ownership of a company I helped him to establish.

When we were married he was not into any Islamic rituals nor for that matter much interested in the children beyond the basics. But after that he started to resemble a mujahid, growing a beard and getting into *extreme Muslim rituals.

I couldn’t be bothered with all that because being a Muslim and practicing Islam are not the same.

The same preachers now involved with Ms. Loh’s daughters appeared in my ex-husband’s life, one of whom suggested my children could transfer their “loyalty” to his new wife. By then, coupled with wealth and his new Muslim identity, he lured my children. By then they were 19 and 14. They were kept away from me. I couldn’t reach them, even not being allowed to see my son in school. Even the school took his side. It’s purely because the staff who was taking care of his attendance was a woman wearing a scarf.

As I do not wear a hijab, the head-covering for Muslim women, school staff refused to allow me to see my son in school. Eventually, I was unable to see my children from then on. My children were sent to study overseas without letting me know the details or being allowed to visit them.

In my case my children were not minors when this happened. The difficulty of gaining access to them ruined a relationship with them that was built over years. I was not there for their graduation and not invited to my daughter’s wedding ceremony, only the akad (agreement).

My ex-husband completely disregards me when it comes to decisions. He has now decided that the wealth he gained through a company we built mutually is to be transferred to his new wife so that I cannot claim it. So whatever I signed under duress now goes to her.

This is how I perceive this nation from my own perspective. Too much corruption of knowledge. This is real . I found myself helpless and I can relate to Loh’s predicament. It is not easy to deal with Muslim husbands and Islamic authority in this country. Your voice can be dismissed regardless of whether you are a Muslim or not. It can be dismissed because you are a woman.

G25 Statement on A Mother’s Plight to Get Her Children Back G25 Malaysia wholeheartedly supports Loh Siew Hong in her plight to get her children back since they were taken from her by her ex-husband who unilaterally and unlawfully converted them to Islam. Loh, by virtue of a High Court order that she obtained in March last year, has been given sole legal custody, care and control of her 3 children, and they should be returned to her immediately. And on 21 February the High Court of Kuala Lumpur has granted her a writ of habeas corpus for the immediate release of her children from unlawful detention. In granting the freedom of the children, Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah reminded the parties concerned, ‘The court orders should not be treated with impunity’. There should be no more debate about the definition or interpretation of the law when it comes to unilateral conversion. This issue was settled in the Federal Court decision in 2018 in the landmark case of Indira Ghandi where the Federal Court ruled that the word “parent” in Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution means both parents, that is to say both the mother and father of the child; and not just one of the parents, be it the mother or the father. This makes any conversion of children without the consents of both parents unconstitutional and invalid. We are encouraged to hear public support for Loh, including that of the Mufti of Penang, Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor, who also agrees for the return of the children to their mother. 1

To allow this unlawful separation and conversion to continue is a traversity of justice and a violation of our Federal Constitution and the orders of the Courts. In addition, as Datuk Prof. Shad Saleem Faruqi mentioned in his article concerning this issue, ‘Loh Siew Hong case: federal court decision overrides state law’ (FMT February 18, 2022 8.00 PM), in a case where one parent converts to Islam, the other does not automatically lose his or her right to an equal right and duty in relation to a child’s upbringing, education and religion, by virtue of Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution on the right to equality. We urge the authorities to uphold the Federal Constitution and to respect and abide by the Courts’ decision. The authorities must respect Loh’s constitutional and legal rights over her children and have them rightfully returned to her. The invalid unilateral conversions of the children must be revoked by the religious authority concerned. We must not forget that the ones who are suffering the most are the children, who are the silent victims in this case. They have already expressed their wish to live with their mother. Prolonging the separation any further will only add to their distress. G25 respectfully suggests that it is high time for the Honourable Attorney General, as the independent guardian of public interest, to come forward to make a public statement urging parties to obey the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the nation, as well the decision of the Federal Court and High Court, regarding the matters at hand. G25 MALAYSIA 21 February 2022

KL High Court orders immediate release of Hindu mother Loh Siew Hong’s children

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — Hindu mother Loh Siew Hong can now finally reunite with her children after the High Court today granted her a writ of habeas corpus for an immediate release of her three children from alleged unlawful detention.

In delivering his decision and allowing Loh’s application, Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah said a December 2019 High Court interim ex-parte order and a March 2021 High Court final order which granted sole custody and full care of her children were still valid and enforceable.

“The court orders should not be treated with impunity. I allow the application as per enclosure one (writ of habeas corpus),” he said after a 45-minutes recess following submissions from parties.

Upon delivery of Sequerah’s decision, Loh could be seen breaking down in tears and had to be consoled by her lawyers.