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Malaysian Council to meet PM on
conversions
WSN Network
KUALA LUMPUR: The
Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism,
Sikhism and Taoism's planned appeal to the Conference of Rulers on
religious conversions has been shelved.
Council president
Datuk A. Vaithilingam said the government is taking action to
address the concerns and the appeal would be put off for now.
The council had
decided to write the Malay rulers after the plight of M. Indira
Ghandi, whose estranged husband had converted their children to
Islam without her knowledge.
Vaithilingam had
said they wanted to raise the problems associated with controversial
conversions as religious matters fell within the ambit of the state
governments.
The government had
decided that children in such situations should follow the common
religion of the spouses before one of them converted.
The council,
however, is seeking to meet with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib
Razak to "build on some of the government's recent positive
decisions like on conversions".
He said among the
other things they wished to discuss with the prime minister included
sites for places of worship for non-Muslims and teaching of religion
in schools, other than Islam.
"Some of these
issues have been on the books for a long time and we hope to find
some solutions."
Vaithilingam said
the council would also like to hear from the prime minister about
his 1Malaysia vision.
20 May 2009
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