Editor’s note: Last paragraph amended for accuracy.
KUCHING, May 16: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau chief Wilfred Yap is helping a Chinese woman who wants to convert back to Buddhism.
The Kuching resident is seeking to have her conversion to Islam reversed and for her identity card and official record to reflect that she is a Buddhist, which was her original religion.
She converted to Islam in 1990 in Brunei to enable the registration of her marriage to a Muslim from Sabah. However, they divorced three years later, and they do not have any children.
She returned to Kuching and got married to a Chinese in 1996, where the marriage was duly registered and a marriage certificate issued. Four children were born out of this marriage to the Chinese man, who is a Buddhist.
“The problem facing this woman is that the birth certificates of her two youngest children do not have the name of their Chinese father and their religion is stated as Islam. She is desirous to have the birth certificates of her two children rectified to include the name of their biological father and his surname,” said Yap in a statement today.
“The woman had on many occasions tried unsuccessfully to obtain a letter of her release from Islam, a document required by the National Registration Department to amend her religious status in the official records.”
SUPP Public Complaints Bureau will continue to highlight and try to resolve issues of public interest affecting the community and is always ready to lend a helping hand to the anyone facing problems or who come across problems of public interest but does not know how to deal with it. Anyone requiring assistance can always call SUPP Public Complaint’s mobile number at 016-7797688 or 082-246999 or go direct to SUPP Head Office to request for assistance. — DayakDaily
