The Attorney-General’s Chambers came under fire
today for appealing against the order issued to Inspector-General of
Police Khalid Abu Bakar to arrest Muslim convert K Pathmanathan @
Mohamad Ridhuan Abdullah for taking away his daughter Prasana Diksa from
his former wife.
The lawyer for Prasana’s mother M Indira Gandhi, M Kulasegaran, who received the notice of appeal filed with the Court of Appeal on Monday, said the attorney-general (AG) should, in all fairness and justice, discontinue with the IGP's appeal to Court of Appeal in the inter-faith custody dispute.
Kulasegaran (left),
who is also DAP national vice-chairperson, said by appealing the Ipoh
High court’s decision, the AG is sending a message to the IGP and other
public servants that court orders are open to question despite having a
conclusive determination.
“With this, all decisions of the court can now be open to question by the IGP and every police officer. The rule of law becomes an illusion in Malaysia. An appeal will only impose unnecessary, mental torture and cause much anguish to Indira Gandhi and her children.
“Public interest dictates all court orders and warrants of arrest must be obeyed without question and it is in the welfare of Prasana Diksa for her to be reunited with her mother and her other siblings.
"An appeal only confirms that the AG, as the principle lawyer for the government of the day, agrees and feels that what the IGP is doing is correct and right. Is this truly the case?" Kulasegaran asked.
The Ipoh Barat MP further asked if the Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and other cabinet ministers, support this decision to appeal.
The High Court in Ipoh last Friday ordered Khalid and police to arrest Ridhuan and retrieve Prasana Diksa @ Ummu Habibah within seven days.
The senior federal counsel had on the same day applied for a stay but this was refused by Justice Lee Swee Seng, who heard the matter.
No resolution if no political will
Kulasegaran said if the AG does not proceed with the appeal, it would do justice to Indira as Ridhuan has yet to purge his contempt of court and Prasana Diksa is yet to be found.
Ridhuan, Kulasegaran said has exhausted all legal avenues as he has no further appeals pending, and what remains outstanding is for him to purge his contempt.
“A refusal to arrest him only sustains the false proposition that orders of the court can be disregarded with impunity,” he warned.
Citing Justice Lee's judgment, the Ipoh Barat MP said if the IGP's appeal's is successful it cannot prove to be nugatory as all that happens would be that the child be returned to the father with the mother granted reasonable access.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the Court of Appeal had struck out Ridhuan's application for extension of time to file his record of appeal to set aside the contempt order served against him for not returning Prasana Diksa.
Kulasegaran also warned that matters pertaining to parental abduction by converting spouses cannot be resolved if the AG continues to lack the political will to see that the rule of law prevails and no injustice is caused to the other spouse or member of any minority community in Malaysia.
“We must not forget to put a human face to the law and here it is a case of a mother having to wait for five years to see the child of her womb.”
Prasana Diksa was taken by Ridhuan since 2009, when she was just 11 months old, after he had converted to Islam. She is presently six years old.
Although Ridhuan obtained custody of Prasana and his other two children, the Ipoh Syariah High Court did not issue any order for the police to retrieve the child.
The two other older children are now living with the mother.
Kulasegaran said the AG should see this dispute from a human perspective as she had filed her case in 2009 and till today it remains unresolved.
Indira Gandhi, who was also present in the Ipoh press conference, also asked why was it taking so long to get back her youngest child.
The lawyer for Prasana’s mother M Indira Gandhi, M Kulasegaran, who received the notice of appeal filed with the Court of Appeal on Monday, said the attorney-general (AG) should, in all fairness and justice, discontinue with the IGP's appeal to Court of Appeal in the inter-faith custody dispute.
Kulasegaran (left),
who is also DAP national vice-chairperson, said by appealing the Ipoh
High court’s decision, the AG is sending a message to the IGP and other
public servants that court orders are open to question despite having a
conclusive determination.“With this, all decisions of the court can now be open to question by the IGP and every police officer. The rule of law becomes an illusion in Malaysia. An appeal will only impose unnecessary, mental torture and cause much anguish to Indira Gandhi and her children.
“Public interest dictates all court orders and warrants of arrest must be obeyed without question and it is in the welfare of Prasana Diksa for her to be reunited with her mother and her other siblings.
"An appeal only confirms that the AG, as the principle lawyer for the government of the day, agrees and feels that what the IGP is doing is correct and right. Is this truly the case?" Kulasegaran asked.
The Ipoh Barat MP further asked if the Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and other cabinet ministers, support this decision to appeal.
The High Court in Ipoh last Friday ordered Khalid and police to arrest Ridhuan and retrieve Prasana Diksa @ Ummu Habibah within seven days.
The senior federal counsel had on the same day applied for a stay but this was refused by Justice Lee Swee Seng, who heard the matter.
No resolution if no political will
Kulasegaran said if the AG does not proceed with the appeal, it would do justice to Indira as Ridhuan has yet to purge his contempt of court and Prasana Diksa is yet to be found.
Ridhuan, Kulasegaran said has exhausted all legal avenues as he has no further appeals pending, and what remains outstanding is for him to purge his contempt.
“A refusal to arrest him only sustains the false proposition that orders of the court can be disregarded with impunity,” he warned.
Citing Justice Lee's judgment, the Ipoh Barat MP said if the IGP's appeal's is successful it cannot prove to be nugatory as all that happens would be that the child be returned to the father with the mother granted reasonable access.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the Court of Appeal had struck out Ridhuan's application for extension of time to file his record of appeal to set aside the contempt order served against him for not returning Prasana Diksa.
Kulasegaran also warned that matters pertaining to parental abduction by converting spouses cannot be resolved if the AG continues to lack the political will to see that the rule of law prevails and no injustice is caused to the other spouse or member of any minority community in Malaysia.
“We must not forget to put a human face to the law and here it is a case of a mother having to wait for five years to see the child of her womb.”
Prasana Diksa was taken by Ridhuan since 2009, when she was just 11 months old, after he had converted to Islam. She is presently six years old.
Although Ridhuan obtained custody of Prasana and his other two children, the Ipoh Syariah High Court did not issue any order for the police to retrieve the child.
The two other older children are now living with the mother.
Kulasegaran said the AG should see this dispute from a human perspective as she had filed her case in 2009 and till today it remains unresolved.
Indira Gandhi, who was also present in the Ipoh press conference, also asked why was it taking so long to get back her youngest child.
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