Faced with rising ethnic and interfaith tensions, Muslim-majority Malaysia will soon introduce a regulation that will require its nationals to inform their family before converting to Islam.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said such a declaration would prevent families from contesting conversion by any member.
His comments came as several religious disputes have come to light in recent months. In one such instance after a Hindu ethnic-Indian, Moorthy, who had secretly converted to Islam, died, his widow could not claim the body for cremation.
The Islamic authorities said he had to be buried as the deceased had converted to Islam. However, his widow said she was unaware of the conversion.
Noting that religious issues were 'very sensitive', Abdullah told reporters after chairing a meeting of the National Council on Islamic Religious Affairs in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday that issues like demolition of places of worship and funeral disputes should be tackled wisely to avoid racial tension.
The step is seen as a damage-control exercise by Barisan Nasional, which suffered its worst ever electoral performance in March's general election following discontent among ethnic Indians, who allege discrimination. Minorities, including Indians and Chinese, who are mostly Buddhists, account for 40 per cent of the 27 million population.
The coalition lost its hold in five states and also one third of the parliamentary seats to the opposition.
Non-Muslims have accused Islamic authorities of often giving their decision against minorities.
Abdullah suggested that non-Muslims, who wanted to convert to Islam should fill a form or letter declaring their intention to let their families know. This would ensure that families had been told and had understood his or her decision, Star newspaper said on Friday.
"We will have a regulation. When a person wants to convert to Islam, we have to ask him whether his wife knows about it. If people want to convert, there is nothing wrong; why must they hide? Tell them (the family)," Abdullah said.
"We don't want problems later when the man converts and converts the children also, when the wife has rights too," the premier said.
Meanwhile, opposition leader and former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim said the joint opposition alliance will not push for a no-confidence motion against Abdullah in Parliament for now.
"We don't find it a necessity nor critical," he said, adding that the leaders of the three parties would continue to monitor the situation.
Anwar, who was instrumental in putting together the Pakatan Rakyat (opposition) coalition of Parti Keadilan Rekyat, Democratic Action Party and Parti Islam se Malaysia, said it was important at present to build up an effective and credible alliance.
His comments came amid speculation that the Opposition could table a vote of no-confidence against Abdullah when Parliament convenes later in April.
Anwar, who will be eligible to hold public office again from April 15 after a five-year ban, said he was in no rush to get back into the fray.
"Our priority is to ensure accountability and good governance in managing the states. We have to anticipate the possibility that the Federal Government might create problems for us by not disbursing funds so we have to ensure that we fulfil promises to the electorate," he said.
"The people have placed so much hope and trust on us. I saw it in their eyes when they came to our rallies. We cannot betray this. This goes beyond politics," he said.
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