Shahrizat: Don’t create controversy
February 13, 2006
The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The recent amendments to the Federal Territories Islamic Family Law should not be turned into a polemic, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said.  

She said the question of who was right or wrong did not arise. 

“Don’t cause too much polemic. It is just a problem of interpretation, which is normal if there are parties unhappy with my statements,” she said in response to claims by the Joint Action Group on Gender Equality that her statement on the Islamic Family (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Act 2005 contradicted her earlier stand.  

The group claimed that Shahrizat, in her earlier statements, had expressed her doubts about the law but last Thursday said that it was not cruel to women. 

The law, passed by Parliament on Dec 22 last year, sparked various reactions from women's organisations.  

This led Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to instruct the Attorney-General to look into the matter. 

Women’s organisations said the law, when enforced, would discriminate against women. – Bernama  

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/2/13/nation/13375167&sec=nation