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Indira Gandhi still hoping to get her children back

January 19th, 2010
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Indira Gandhi. Nope, not the deceased PM of India, but our own local famous person.

The two news below was reported way back in May 2009.

News 1: From Malaysiakini:

The kindergarden teacher who is embroiled in a legal battle to get custody of her one-year-old daughter from her converted husband, has finally reached an agreement at the High Court today which includes visiting rights to see her child.

MCPX

The agreement was reached after 150 minutes of proposing and counter proposing in the chambers of High Court 1 in Ipoh.

Indira Gandhi (left), 34, appeared relieved after the agreement was stitched with her estranged husband Mohd Ridwan Abdullah before judge Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim in his chambers this afternoon.

However, Ridwan did not appear in court today. He was represented by a legal team of three lawyers led by Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, while Indira was represented by six lawyers led by Augustine Anthony.

Meanwhile, Perak Bar Council president T Shan held a watching brief for the legal body.

Temporary custody until court hearing

The court was to make a decision today on the contempt proceedings brought against Ridwan for the evasion of custody order dated April 24.

However, a compromise was reached between the two sides and a deal was struck whereby Indra will have temporary custody of her two older children – Tevidarsiny,12, and Karaudinish,11 – while Ridwan will have temporary custody of Prasana Diksa pending the Aug 20 court hearing on custody.

The agreement also states that the two older children will attend school without any interference from their father. Both Indra and Ridwan have visiting rights to see their respective children every fortnight at a place and time to be fixed later.

“I am so relieved that my two months of agonising wait for Prasana has come to a successful temporary agreement,” Indira told journalists outside the court.

When asked about the whereabouts of her husband who was reportedly to be in Singapore, she said, “I do not know but I received a mobile call from him during the court proceedings and he verbally abused me.”

Members of Muslim organisations as well as officials from the Perak Religious Department were seen in full force at the court today.

Their presence appeared to unnerve Indira’s family members and friends, who were clearly outnumbered by them.

News 2: The Star.

IPOH: After more than a month of separation, M. Indira Gandhi may finally see her one-year-old daughter within the next two weeks.

This came about after a High Court here Thursday agreed that the welfare of Indira’s three children should take precedence over the kindergarten teacher’s custody battle with her Muslim convert husband.

As such, although the interim custody order granted to Indira by another court on April 24 was still stayed, Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim agreed in chambers to a settlement proposed by opposing counsels to allow both parents visitation rights with their children.

According to Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdullah, counsel for Indira’s husband Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah (formerly K. Patmanathan), the settlement permitted both parties to see their children at least once every two weeks.

Currently, the two older children, Tevi Darsiny, 12, and Karan Dinish, 11, reside with their mother while the youngest, Prasana Diksa, stays with the father.

“In the interim, the parties have worked out a situation in which status quo is preserved for the time being, until the court has the chance to listen to full arguments on the main application by Indira’s for custody.

”This means that the two older children remain with their mother and the youngest with her father but both parties can meet once every two weeks until the matter is disposed of in court,” said Mohamed Haniff, when met outside the courtroom here.

He added that terms of the settlement were not strict and would be discussed by solicitors from time to time.

Mohamed Haniff also said that the settlement was proposed to give respect to the two disputing parents and to be fair to the children.

As such, he said Indira’s counsels had also withdrawn their earlier contempt proceedings initiated against Mohd Ridzuan for failure to adhere to April 24’s interim custody order.

Justice Wan Afrah set July 20 to hear submissions on Indira’s main application for custody and Mohd Ridzuan’s application to set aside the interim custody order on grounds that the civil court had no jurisdiction to decide on the matter.

Indira’s counsel Augustine Anthony said that he was pleased with the new arrangement for at the very least, it gave Indira a chance to visit her daughter.

Since the 34-year-old was granted an interim custody on all three of her children, she had embarked on a wild goose chase across the city to locate her estranged husband and youngest daughter.

Despite police intervention and the distribution of over 5,000 posters bearing the faces of her husband and child, Indira still failed to find the two and has not seen them since last month.

And in August last year, this news appeared:

A woman challenging the conversion of her three children to Islam by their Muslim-convert father is seeking leave for a judicial review by the High Court here to quash two decisions handed down by the Syariah Court.

M. Indira Gandhi filed separate applications in the civil court earlier this month to quash her children’s conversion, her lawyer M. Kulase-garan said.

She is also seeking a judicial review to quash the Syariah Court’s decision to grant custody of her children to their father, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah (formerly K. Patmanathan).

“The court has ordered the husband’s lawyer to file submissions on whether the High Court of Malaya has jurisdiction over the matter.

“If the High Court decides that it has no power, then it will not decide on all other issues,” Kulasegaran told reporters outside the High Court here yesterday.

He added that the High Court had set Sept 4 and Oct 20 to hear the submissions on each of the respective applications.

Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi’s application for custody of her children has been fixed for hearing on Nov 2.

Kulasegaran said that Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim, who heard the matter in chambers, expressed concern that the children had not seen their mother for months.

Today, this happened:

The Ipoh High Court has ordered both parents embroiled in a custody battle over three children to produce them in court when the hearing continues on Jan 22.

Kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi, 35, has filed three applications seeking custody of sons Tevidarsiny, 13 and Karan Dinish,12, and daughter Prasana Diksa, 2, following the conversion of her husband to Islam.

In April 2009, she claimed that her estranged husband Mohd Ridwan Abdullah, 41, previously known as K Patmanathan, had converted himself and the children without her knowledge.

Indira Gandhi also wants the conversion certificates of her children quashed, alongside the Syariah Court’s order awarding custody of the children to Mohd Ridwan.

Today, Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim heard arguments in chambers for about 90 minutes from lawyers representing Indira Gandhi before issuing the order for the children to be produced in court.

Indira Gandhi is represented by four lawyers – K Shanmuga, M Kulasegaran, D Laithaa and Sahri Azzat – while Mohd Ridwan is represented by three lawyers.

Both parents should have a say

Shanmuga submitted that both parents should have a say in the conversion of children below the age of 18, as stated in Section 5 of the Guardinship of Infants Act 1961.

Mohd Ridwan has been in hiding with the youngest child since Indira Gandhi sought police help to get the girl back. The elder children are with the mother.

Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim had, on April 24 last year, granted Mohd Ridwan temporary custody of all three children.

Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with the civil and the Syariah courts operating side by side on matters of family law.

Non-Muslims have previously claimed that they do not get a fair hearing when such cases are disposed of through the Syariah court system, as they have no locus standi to plead their cause.

Both Indira Gandhi and Mohd Ridwan were present at the court today.

So, its going to be one year, and still no solution in sight for the poor mother. ONE YEAR!

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Posted in BornInMalaysia, Indian, Religion

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Penjara Wanita Kajang

January 18th, 2010
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Managed to visit the Women’s Prison in Kajang (and sorry, no photos allowed inside the building). Some interesting facts I learnt from the officers there:

1. There’s between 1000 and 2000 prisoners at any one time, but the capacity is about 400 only.

2. Most of the inhabitants are foreigners who commit crimes like overstaying, misusing visa/permit etc. There were nearly 80% of them at the time of the visit.

3. Most prisoners are in for short term (6 months and less) due to the type of the crime committed. Example of crimes: drug use, permit misuse, overstaying, stealing, etc.

4. The locals are allowed to study (MLVK Tahap 1 is being taught, started recently).

5. There are various activities like cooking, cleaning, tailoring, food processing, saloon and spa service ,batik making, handicraft making, etc. to occupy the prisoners’ time. The prison earns about RM7 million in annual sales from the products made by the prisoners.

7. Children up to age of 3 are allowed to accompany their mother in the prison (there’s a nursery). After that, the kids are given to next of kin or sent to welfare homes.

8. Being female, there’s less problem with the prisoners.

9. Those being remanded are also held in this prison while waiting for the case to be mentioned.

10. Overall, the prisoners looked well treated, and nope, I did not visit the cells.

Well, I can’t provide exact numbers and specifics of the place, but I hope the above gives you some idea of the prison.

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Posted in I Was Here

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More clarification on YTL Sentul Raya project

January 13th, 2010
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Developer clarified, Deputy Minister clarified, now let’s read what a  property buyer clarifies about:

WITH regard to the letter that appeared in StarMetro on Jan 1 headlined “Developer sticking to plan.”

The developer again is misrepresenting facts with regard to the Sentul Raya development project when they state that Lot 16 is designated for low-cost and medium-cost apartments.

The developer was supposed to have built KTMB Village medium-cost apartments on the portion of the land (PT 16) allocated to KTMB under the privatisation project.

This component was to be owned by KTMB for use as its staff quarters since about 1,200 old quarters were demolished from the development land.

This was not meant for low-cost housing, which, in the original approved development plan, has been allocated to be built on the neighbouring plots between KTMB Village and the present Boulevard shophouses. There were allocation for four to five blocks of high-rise low-cost apartments on this designated land.

The squatters were then promised a unit each on this land and not in Puchong or elsewhere. The developer has also made misrepresentations on the medium cost components such as Villa Perhentian and others.

They seem to have converted all these components into high-cost products for maximum return disregarding the Corporate Social Responsibility and the approved policy of the Government to “regenerate” Sentul KTMB reserve land for the benefit of all by building low-cost, medium-cost and high-cost mixed development. A mere reference to the published original development plan (Master Plan) should throw enough light on these issues.

The developer should stop misleading and confusing the public and stakeholders in the project by making irresponsible statements. They should, instead, implement Sentul “regeneration” project for the benefit of all stratum of society and not for the benefit of the rich and famous alone.

Hj Moideen N K

President, Sentul Raya real estate buyers

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The word that divides when it should unite

January 9th, 2010
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Well the Word has gained popularity overnight. I can’t say much because its not my area and secondly, the rules seems to be different for the others.

As of 12.15am, three (or four) churches had some sort of explosives thrown, with one damaged quite bad, and another two escaped because the materials didn’t explode. A pastor was “mandhandled” by four guys and some items vandalised in Kg Pandan. One pastor in Kuala Selangor was given advice by a (hopefully) wellwisher to be careful. Ibrahim Ali, as expected, says it may be acts to sabotage his religion. Well, that’s his opinion and we respect that.

The King has issued statement while PM, DPM, and host of politicians condemned the attacks. MIC guys are still in India (150 over people attending the Parvasi I  think) so local media may not be able to access their response.

But note what Singapore Straits Times quoted from Minister Ahmad Zahidi:

‘This is Malaysia. Do not equate us with another country. We are an Islamic country as stated in the Constitution,’ he said, adding that there was a hidden agenda to use the word ‘Allah’ in the Herald, the Catholic publication.

In raising this issue, Mr Ahmad Zahid said a small group of non-Muslim leaders was trying to question the position of Islam in Malaysia.

Islam is the official religion under the Federal Constitution while the right of non-Muslims to worship is also protected.

‘Don’t play with fire and challenge the Muslims. We are willing to do anything to protect our religion,’ he warned.

If we have people who don’t understand constitution as Ministers, what else to expect? Or is it the paper misquoted the minister?

The former president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) , Datuk A. Vaithilingam, said the inter-religious committee should be reconvened immediately. The committee has not met for more than one year, he claimed. I doubt this idea will be welcomed by the protesters.

Small protests (Utusan said 3000 strong, but others put it at few hundreds) at mosques (within compounds) happened in about 10 locations in KL, Selangor, Johor, Terengganu among others. While Home Minister said nothing seditious was said at the protests, MK mentioned that one of the protesters (from the cow head case) mentioned about “burning”. Not sure if there’s any recording of that which can be provided to the police and Home Minister.

What about the situation on East Malaysia, the source of the cause of this problem? Why the protests are largely in KL and Selangor, plus unaffected area like Terengganu? Where are the politicians from East Malaysia? I think only Bernard Dompok and Maximus Ongkili said something so far (here, here, and here). I wonder what Bung Mokhtar would say 🙂 Say, would the folks in East Malaysia remember this?

Makes me think, if the ban was not put into place, all this would not have happened. Things were going well as it is, until someone saw it fit to interfere in the religious affairs of the Christians. I see it as interference because what they do with their religions and books is their problem as long as they don’t proselytize to Muslims. If there’s proof that such attempts took place, then can charge the persons because our law says cannot promote other religions to Muslims.  So, if some of the Muslims purposely go and search for materials from Herald, is it Herald’s fault or the Muslim’s fault?

The religious experts are saying different things about the use, exclusivity, and history of the Word. They themselves can’t (or won’t) agree on this, what more of politicians and public who have practically lesser knowledge. Some experts saying it involves sociological context, sensitivity of the majority, and other what-nots. Some even say Syariah Court should rule on Herald’s application! Lots of factors to consider.

I think the judge ruled wisely saying that banning the Word is interfering with other’s people’s rights because there are laws that exist to ensure others don’t misuse their freedom.

I can’t really see a solution to this problem because ruling on a total ban will most likely damage our name in the international circle and create uproar in East Malaysia (from which the ruling government draws some of its power), while a total approval will provide ammo for more protests and attacks.

I have to offer a word of thanks to the Christian community which consists of various races, for not reacting aversely to the attacks on their places of worship.

As for Hindus, let us pray for a solution, an enlightenment from almighty God, that an amicable solution be found. Let us not become emotional or condemn without purpose and care. We have not used the Word in our prayers, so we are not affected. Yet, we can empathize with the Muslims and Christians, and pray for the Divine to open their minds.

Well, let’s see if the Word divides or unites (and who it divides and/or unites).

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Where’s the report, ask parents

January 7th, 2010
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I was just thinking about the Kampar bridge disaster two days ago (its new school term, and my mind just went to the families that lost their children)  and look at what appears in today’s news. So, what has been done so far? I know Perak state government had the contractor blacklisted. The outcome of  the investigation was announced, but I don’t remember the report being released. Teachers given counseling (parents and students?).  The parents started a law suit. Other than that?

The parents of the three drowned schoolchildren from the Kuala Dipang collapsed bridge tragedy late last year wants the Education Ministry to publicise its report on its investigations.

Former Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar said the three parents were hell-bent on pursuing the matter and wanted the findings to be made known to them.

”If there is nothing to hide, why keep it (the findings) a secret?” he told reporters during a press conference here on Thursday.

”The Government should tell the parents and the public what went wrong and punish those responsible for the tragedy,” said Sivakumar, also the Tronoh assemblyman who led the Pakatan Rakat ad hoc investigation committee into the matter.

”The matter should not be put aside as it has not been resolved yet,” he added.

Sivakumar said no action has been taken against those responsible for approving the contruction of the bridge since the Education Ministry completed their investigations last year.

”They already know the cause for the collapse of the bridge and also identified all the parties involved,” he said.

”Only the contractor who built the bridge has been made the scapegoat,” he claimed.

He noted that Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir had blacklisted the contractor and said he would not be awarded any more contracts.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia, Indian, Tamil-Schools

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