Former judge ‘baffled’ why IGP doesn’t nab Indira’s ex-husband

A former judge has echoed calls for the police to obey a Federal Court order and arrest Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, the former husband of M Indira Gandhi.

This is especially since Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador admitted to knowing his whereabouts.

Speaking at a Selangor Bar lecture this afternoon, former Court of Appeal justice Mah Weng Kwai said he was “baffled” that the police were instead trying to coax Riduan to return.

“I am baffled because you have an order of the apex court of this country and the order was to the police to produce this person, and more so if you know where he is.

“(But you) don’t produce him and start talking about negotiations. I just don’t understand the reasoning.

“Unless they think that (this) contempt case has nothing to do with criminal liability, (that) it is such a civil case that you can just go and negotiate. I don’t think it is the proper thing to do,” he said during the question-and-answer segment.

An audience member had asked him about Pakatan Harapan’s political will to solve prominent cases since it took office.

Indira and Riduan (formerly K Pathmanathan) were previously embroiled in a custody battle after the latter converted to Islam and ran away with their daughter Prasana Diksa in 2009.

In 2014, the Ipoh High Court issued a mandamus order compelling the police to retrieve Prasana from her father.

In 2016, the Federal Court upheld the ruling and ordered the IGP to arrest Riduan.

Last week, Hamid revealed that he knew where Riduan was and publicly urged him to come out of hiding.

Stressing that the police force was working hard to reunite Indira with Prasana, the IGP said he hoped for a “happy ending” and a “win-win” solution.

No win for lawbreakers

Elaborating, Mah disagreed with Hamid’s aim for an amicable solution for all parties.

“What do you mean by a win-win situation? If you have broken the law, there is no win for you. You lose! It is as simple as that,” he said, referring to Ridhuan.

M Indira Ghandi with a poster of her former husband

The IGP comments had also provoked ire from Indira, who questioned the police’s delay in delivering Prasana to her and threatened a RM100 million lawsuit.

Civil society groups and the Bar Council similarly called the IGP to expedite Riduan’s arrest.

Hamid has since cautioned against politicisation of the case and affirmed his commitment to solving it.

Now a Suhakam commissioner, Mah had earlier given a talk entitled “Enforced Disappearance: Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat”.

Mah had chaired the commission’s public inquiry into both cases and found the police’s Special Branch responsible for their enforced disappearances. - Mkini