Women's Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah has met Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail over custody battles involving Shariah and civil courts. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, June 13, 2014.
A women's group has sought the help of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to rein in the police for refusing to enforce two court orders on highly contentious custody battles where the Muslim fathers were accused of "abducting" their children.
The Malaysian Insider was informed that the meeting took place in Putrajaya on Wednesday where representatives from the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) and lawyers met Abdul Gani, seeking his help in trying to get the police to find the two children and return them to their mothers.
WAO had expressed their concerns to the A-G on the police's refusal to adhere to the court orders pertaining to the cases of clerk S. Deepa in Seremban and kindergarten teacher Indira Gandhi in Ipoh.
Despite separate court orders from the High courts in Seremban and Ipoh, both women have been left frustrated as their ex-husbands, who had converted to Islam, have refused to return the children.
WAO executive director Ivy Josiah confirmed that she and several lawyers had met Abdul Gani.
"Abdul Gani said that he was committed towards finding a solution to these issues," Ivy said, declining to elaborate further.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has come under fire from various quarters for refusing to adhere to the court orders.
In defending the police, Khalid reportedly said the police had no other option as they were "sandwiched" between two legal systems – the civil court and Shariah court.
Khalid had also said that police would not enforce any order from either the civil or Shariah courts on custody battles.
Instead, he had even recommended that children in the centre of custody battles be placed in the care of the Welfare Department.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak weighed in on the matter last night, saying both sides could appeal to the Federal Court to resolve differing judgments in the civil and Shariah courts.
"They can appeal to the Federal Court. Since this matter has attracted the attention of the public, the government believes the court will give priority to these cases," Najib was quoted as saying by the Star Online.
In April 2009, Muslim convert Mohd Ridzuan, formerly K. Patmanathan, took away Prasana Diksa, then 11 months old, Tevi Darsiny, then 12, and Karan Dinish, then 11, and converted them to Islam without their mother, Indira's, knowledge.
The Ipoh High Court granted Indira full custody of all three children and on March 11, 2010, and Ridzuan was ordered to return Prasana Diksa to the mother.
At the same time, the Shariah High Court awarded Mohd Ridzuan custody of all three children.
The case involving 30-year-old clerk Deepa and her Muslim convert husband Izwan Abdullah, then known as N. Viran, is similar.
Both are fighting for the custody of their children as the Shariah and civil laws have granted both parents custody.
In December last year, Deepa filed an application to get custody of the children who were converted to Islam by the husband after he embraced Islam in 2011.
Her High Court application in Seremban also sought to quash the custody order by the Shariah court.
Deepa said her husband left her and her children three years ago, and had never supported them financially.
Following his conversion, he converted his children, Sharmila, 9, and Mithran, 6, in April last year, without informing her.
Deepa later came to know that the Shariah court had given him custody of the children.
Despite winning custody of the children at the civil court, Deepa lost Mithran when he was abducted by Izwan in April this year.
- TMI
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