Islamic NGOs: Taking away son is 'not kidnap'

 

A group of Islamic NGOs from Negri Sembilan said today that a Muslim convert father took away his six-year-old son from the custody of his former wife according to a syariah court order last year granting him custody of the children.

His Hindu ex-wife, S Deepa, won custody of their two children from the High Court in Seremban last Monday, but the NGOs claim that the civil court custody order did not cancel out the syariah court order, which granted custody to Izwan Abdullah, formerly known as N Viran.

"The High Court judgment on April 7 did not have any order that cancelled the syariah court order. Izwan believes that it is still in effect," said Shamsul Azhar Yahya, the secretary of the coalition of Islamic NGOs.

As such, Shamsul Azhar said, the claim that Izwan had "kidnapped" his son from the custody of his former wife, who is a Hindu, “is overboard”.

“Based on the facts, I think what has been said in the newspapers is not 100 percent true. Using the word 'kidnap' is not appropriate to describe Izwan’s action.

“However, most mainstream papers did state that both parties have court orders granting them custody,” Shamsul Azhar told a press conference in Seremban today.

Affidavit filed

He also said Izwan had filed an affidavit today with the High Court explaining why he had taken the son away.

"The affidavit is aimed to answer accusations and negative reports saying that Izwan had kidnapped the son," Shamsul Azhar said.

Izwan took the boy away from Deepa’s house in Jelebu two days after she was granted custody over their two children, injuring Deepa in the process.

Malaysian Syariah Lawyers Association representative Hanif Hassan, who was also present at the press conference, said the federal and state governments should enact a stronger law to settle disputes like these.

However, Hanif did not elaborate on this particular case as it is still under the court process.