I would have arrested Muslim father in custody dispute, says former top cop

Former IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan says at a forum that he would have acted on the arrest warrant issued by the High Court. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Raiezal, September 13, 2014.

Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said today that he would have acted on the civil court's warrant to arrest a Muslim father ‎who had defied a court order to hand over his daughter to his Hindu ex-wife.

He said that if he was still the top cop, he would have‎ acted on the arrest warrant served by the High Court instead of following a Shariah Court order, which had awarded custody of the girl to the father, a Muslim convert.

Musa was referring to the ‎custody battle between Muslim convert Muhammad Riduan Abdullah‎ and his wife M. Indira Gandhi over their daughter Prasana Diksa.

The current IGP, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar‎, has refused to enforce the High Court order and said police were caught between two court systems because of the different custody orders from a civil and Shariah court.

"The wife also has a right to be heard. And since she is a non-Muslim, she has no choice but to go to a civil court as she cannot be heard in a Shariah court," Musa said at a seminar ‎titled "Memartabatkan Institusi‎ DYMM Tuanku Sultan Selangor" organised by the Majlis Gabungan Pertubuhan Sukarela Selangor held at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) today.

"So if I was still the IGP and given an order to serve the warrant, I would do it‎," he told the audience.

Musa said that Islamic law states that when a person converts into the religion, they could still live with the non-Muslim spouse for three months.

"But after that, if‎ the wife has not converted, the husband can go to the Shariah Court to annul the marriage.

"However, this annulment has to be done with both parties present. It cannot be done ex-parte. That is the law," he said.

Since the non-Muslim wife cannot be heard in a Shariah Court, she would have to go to a civil court where both can be heard, he said.

‎"Even if the Shariah Court says that the marriage is annulled, the husband still has to go to the civil court," he added.

Musa also said that the sultan, who is the head of Islam in the state, should not interfere in such matters in order to be "protected".

"I ‎feel the sultan cannot interfere in these matters. This is because we want to protect the sultan from being sued," he added.

Instead, he said, it is the duty of the Islamic Department to find a resolution ‎in such issues, where the civil and Shariah Court decisions are contradictory.

"There are ways but the important thing is to give both parties an opportunity to speak. This is about getting justice," he added.

Riduan, who was previously known as K. Pathamanaban, had converted to Islam in 2009.

The Shariah High Court in Ipoh gave Riduan custody of his three children, including Prasana Diksa, after he unilaterally converted them to Islam in 2009.

Riduan had refused to hand over Prasana Diksa despite a 2010 High Court order awarding custody of the couple's three children to Indira.

In July last year, High Court judge Lee Swee Seng quashed the conversion of the children, ruling that the certificates of conversion were unconstitutional.

On May 30, the court found Riduan guilty of contempt of court for failing to return Prasana Diksa to Indira.

Lee also granted her a recovery order and warrant of arrest against her former husband.

The girl, who is now five, was separated from the mother when she was 11 months old. She is believed to be in Kota Baru.

Another order was to arrest Riduan and place him in prison until he offers an explanation to the court why he had refused to return Prasana Diksa to her mother.

- TMI