Interfaith conflicts: Politicians fear losing Muslim votes

KUALA LUMPUR: The lack of political will to resolve interfaith child custody conflicts, such as that of Indira Gandhi, comes from the fear of losing Muslim votes, says Muslim activist Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim.

“As far as it goes for the prime minister, the ministers and MPs from both sides, the political will is missing.

“From what I hear, it’s the fear of losing votes – the fear of losing the Muslim votes,” Thasleem said.

This, he said, extended to the current difficulty in finding Indira’s ex-husband Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah, who has gone missing following the recent court order to return his daughter to Indira Gandhi, who has been fighting a custody battle for her children after her ex-husband converted them unilaterally.

Thasleem said this at a press conference held yesterday by Indira Gandhi’s lawyers to announce that Indira would be applying for permission from the Federal Court on May 19 to appeal against the Court of Appeal reinstating the conversion certificates of her three children.

The Court of Appeal had ruled that civil courts can’t decide on conversions.

“Any sane Muslim who knows Islam will rally around Indira Gandhi to see justice is done for her. No two ways about it,” Thasleem said.

He criticised the recent announcement by Prime Minister Najib Razak that the Cabinet was discussing ways to resolve interfaith child custody conflicts between parents who were Muslim and non-Muslim.

“Don’t forget that there was a Cabinet committee appointed way back,” Thasleem said.

“Now they say there is another committee set up to look at it. Why reinvent the wheel?”

Indira had in January expressed her doubts about the outcome.

Indira had pointed out, in an earlier report by the Malay Mail, that despite news of the committee comprising three federal ministers and the Attorney-General, neither she nor her legal representatives had been approached for comments regarding the unilateral conversion of her children by her former husband.

She had also pointed out that the committee, comprising Health Minister S Subramaniam, Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom, was the third assembled so far to resolve such conversion matters.

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