OPINION  |  S THAYAPARAN

– Karan Dinish, son of M Indira Gandhi

COMMENT | Tevi Darsiny, the eldest daughter of M Indira Ghandi, said this to the Malay Mail: “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 said this after the Federal Court nullified her and her siblings’ conversion in January because it was carried out without Indira’s consent.

Who is missing from this picture? That’s right, her youngest child Prasana Diksa, who was kidnapped by their religious extremist father Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, and who still hasn’t been located by the state security apparatus.

What was Syariah Lawyers Association president Musa Awang’s response to this after the landmark ruling? “There might be people who will take advantage (of the ruling) and abscond with the child and hide the child until the child decides (what religion they want to embrace).”

A reminder to anyone who cares why Islamic laws affect non-Muslims in Malaysia to contradict the lies and victimhood of religious extremists who claim otherwise:

“A good example of this is the way how unilateral conversion robs a child of his or her right to decide if he or she wants to belong to a religion which has profound implications on the way how its believers live in a country where Islamic laws define Muslims and there are legal ramifications of being Muslim.”

The question now is not so much where Indira’s youngest daughter is, but why the state security apparatus doesn’t want to find her. If you really believe that it is doing everything it can to find Prasana, you are living with some serious delusions.

Keep in mind that in the cases of Indira and S Deepa, the state security apparatus assumed the role of antagonist and was an impediment to justice. This is a matter of public record and something most Pakatan Harapan political operatives can attest to.

When de facto Law Minister Liew Vui Keong rambles on about why the government cannot interfere, or that he needs to consult the attorney-general, this horse manure just enables the state security apparatus to continue with their excuses as to why this kidnapped child has not been found.

A kidnapping

Make no mistake. This is a kidnapping. Even more insidious is that this is a religious kidnapping.

Strip away all the legalese and this is what Indira’s ex-husband has done. Riduan 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 done this in the name of religion.

I get that things may have changed from when I served with the state security apparatus, but the people I speak to now maintain that it has the capabilities to be one of the best in this region. An issue like this would not be much of a problem for them. What they don’t have is the political will which enables them to carry out their duties.

As a member of the police force recently told me, “Siapa nak believe that our boys cannot find this orang bodoh, tuan? (Who is going to believe that our boys cannot find this idiot, sir?)” The police officer who said this may be young, but he has field experience in the anti-narcotics division.

Why does the state security apparatus waste time in questioning someone like Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythmoorthy for comments he made ten years ago, but can’t seem to find this kidnapper, who isn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the box?

Back to religion

It makes you wonder. Has this got something to do with religion?

If a Hindu parent had unilaterally converted his children without his Muslim’s wife consent – yeah, I know how it works in Malaysia, but work with me here – what do you think the response of the courts, the state security apparatus, but most importantly the non-Muslim politicians would be?

If this man had kidnapped his Muslim child and was making her live as a Hindu, what do you think the outrage would be like?

I am sure the best of friends, Umno and PAS, fueled by the blossoming bromance of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Abdul Hadi Awang, would hold a rally, and maybe even change laws, because nobody wants a riot, right?

This issue really pisses me off. This is a win that Harapan needs. This is something which would legitimise the already compromised state security apparatus. And yet we have tone deaf politicians making the situation worse.

What do we get? We get a law minister who more or less washes his hands of this case. We get someone like Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran, who did a lot for this case, but who now says dumb things like he not being able to be “directly involved in the case,” and that it would be “improper to interfere in another minister’s portfolio.”

Really? As an elected representative who has firsthand knowledge of this case, who understands the duplicity of the then-Umno state and the utter indifference of the state security apparatus, you cannot counsel the relevant ministry of what needs to be done? This is how Harapan politicians are going to play the game?

You know what the religious extremists in this country want? They want this young child to grow up to be a Muslim woman and bring forth more Muslim children. They want her to have no choice, like how Indira’s other children had no choice when it came to religion.

Tell me if I am wrong? Tell me if I am being racially or religiously insensitive?

If this case is forgotten, if Indira’s kidnapped daughter isn’t found, this will be on the heads of the Harapan politicians who had no guts to facilitate her recovery.

This will also be on the state security apparatus who continue to provide evidence that their agenda is not to serve the people but other sub rosa imperatives.

People should stop asking where Indira’s kidnapped child is, but why the Harapan state does not want her to be found.

S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.