Can the rakyat trust the police chief?

“For the past nine years, people ask us what are we, as in what religion are we? And my answer would be 'I'm a Hindu', with confidence. After today, I can say with assurance that 'I am a Hindu'." 

- Tevi Darsiny, eldest daughter of M Indira Gandhi.

We now know that the inspector-general of police (IGP) has been lying when he claimed before that the state security apparatus did not know the whereabouts of M Indira Gandhi’s kidnapped child. 

We now know that the IGP and the state security apparatus have been colluding by their inaction to carry out a court order with a kidnapper. We now know that the state security apparatus and the IGP are complicit in a kidnapping by their willful disregard of a court order, their enabling of the kidnapper and by the arrogance that they are above the law.

If you think what I wrote was provocative, keep in mind that Suhakam concluded that the state security apparatus was complicit in the kidnapping of Pastor Raymond Koh, and what did the 'old maverick' say of this conclusion? That it was merely hearsay. In any functional democracy, the IGP would be under investigation.

In this country, the IGP can shrug off Indira's civil suit as “her right to do so”, secure in the knowledge that her rights – our rights – will not constrain his dereliction of duty or contempt of court.

Can anyone trust anything the IGP says now? When conniving political operatives tell us to trust in the investigation, can anyone take them seriously? You do understand what this means, right? Now when a Muslim convert or a Muslim kidnapper kidnaps a child – in the name of religion – what he or she has is precedent that the state security apparatus will do everything in their power to see to it that the crime results in a "happy ending".

The rakyat will be fed lies and red herrings. Conspiracy theories will supplant the administration of justice and the kidnappers will remain free all in the name of religion. In all my articles, I have made the argument that this is a case of religious kidnapping. That religion was front and centre of a crime, which demonstrated to non-Muslims that they were at a disadvantage.

Strip away all the legalese and this is what Indira's ex-husband has done. Muhammad Riduan Abdullah (above) has kidnapped his child and has demonstrated that he does not give a damn about the courts, the state security apparatus or the hypocritical "new Malaysia" politicians. He has said that he believed the superiority of his religion would protect him from the judgment of the courts.

The IGP’s “happy ending” comment should have got him sacked. He is not the arbiter in the administration of justice. It is not in his purview to determine a happy ending or even to define it. I have no idea why the Attorney-General's Office has not pushed for a contempt of court order against him or why the relevant bodies are not investigating him for obstruction of justice - the least of the issues involved – or more importantly, as an accomplice to a kidnapping.

And if you believe that only the IGP was in the know, you are incredibly naive. I wrote about how a young anti-narcotics office told me that he believes that the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) does not really want to find the child because if they did, they would have. 

If my own credible contacts within the state security apparatus – still serving officers – could confirm that they believed the PDRM knew where the kidnapper was, then you can bet that there are political operatives – even non-Malays ones – who knew that the PDRM knew the whereabouts of the kidnapped child but were merely misleading the rakyat by their silence.

Now we know why de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said that the government cannot “interfere” in the case -"This case, cannot really ask for the government to interfere because this is a litigation matter taken up by the mother against the ex-husband.” You can bet your last ringgit that when this statement was made, there were political operatives in Pakatan Harapan who knew that the PDRM knew the whereabouts of the kidnapped child.

Keep in mind that in the cases of Indira and S Deepa, the state security apparatus assumed the role of antagonist and were an impediment to justice. This is a matter of public record and something most Harapan political operatives can attest to. Why? Because Harapan political operatives before they were elected into public office were championing these causes as if their political careers depended on it. What changed, you ask?

Well, your guess is as good as mine. But please do not ever make the mistake of thinking that the IGP’s admission was something that was confined to the innermost circles of the state security apparatus. Did the Perlis mufti know? Do followers of Zakir Naik know? You think it is wrong to ask these questions?

Remember that the rumour mill and conspiracy theories about this case revolved around these personalities and now that we know that the IGP knew the whereabouts of the kidnapped child and defied a court order to enable the kidnapper, we know that he could have put a stop to these rumours.

Instead, we are always warned about spreading “fake news”. We are warned not to believe in conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, on social media, religious fanatics mock people who question the IGP and the state security apparatus. They hate people like Indira and S Deepa because they expose the way how the religion of the state intrudes into our lives.

And what about the ever compassionate Islamic affairs minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa? There are so many ways Riduan could evade the law and it does not have to include the complicity of the state security apparatus (although I suspect they are complicit). What people fail to understand is that the religious bureaucracy is a system of its own, with tributaries that riddle the country.

Can anyone seriously believe that the religious bureaucracy and the state security apparatus were not working together to keep the child safe in her new religion and are now endeavouring for a “happy ending”?

Please keep in mind that it is not only the complicity of the state in this religious crime. It would not surprise me if there are enablers, who are average citizens, conspiring to keep this child within the religion forced onto her. I do not think these people consider Riduan as some sort of religious martyr but rather they believe that Indira’s daughter belongs to them and their faith. It pains me to say this but Indira's daughter probably has been indoctrinated to believe the narrative of her captors instead of her mother.

For years I have been claiming that the state security apparatus knew the whereabouts of Indira's kidnapped child. Now the IGP has confirmed it.

We can expect more of these kinds of revelations in this "new Malaysia".

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. A retired barrister-at-law, he is one of the founding members of Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan. - Mkini