Jarring contrast: Malaysia’s UN win, Indira Gandhi’s 12-year agony

KUALA LUMPUR – As Malaysia celebrates winning a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, the lack of tangible action in M. Indira Gandhi’s 12-year search for her daughter continues to irk lawyers and activists.

So far, her latest call for action has been largely ignored. Indira Gandhi wants Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to set up an independent task force comprising former judges to investigate police’s inability to locate her child and ex-husband. 

In March 2009, Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, formerly known as K. Pathmanathan, left the house with their youngest daughter, 11-month-old Prasana Diksa. Indira Gandhi has not seen her since.

Human rights advocate and lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan expressed support for Indira Gandhi’s call as she believes that the task force will not only bring attention to this particular case, but also possibly aid in identifying the related problems in the country.  

She told The Vibes that the task force will, at the very least, lend comfort to Indira Gandhi, while providing a wider scope to the investigation into the authorities’ failure to locate Riduan and Prasana Diksa. 

“Court orders have been made, but no one is abiding by them. If the court processes cannot provide answers, then let’s see if the task force can achieve something else,” she said, adding that such disobedience to court orders will set a problematic precedent if left unaddressed. 

“There are ways in which the court can impose punishments, but when police and enforcers themselves are saying they cannot reach (Riduan), that’s the difficulty we have in this case.

“It is almost as if police are operating on a parallel level to the court system.”

Although the task force might not have the power to subpoena people or witnesses, she said, it will be able to look into how the authorities have failed Indira Gandhi and her family.  

“It is inconceivable that a child can just disappear off the record.”

Lawyer and former Malaysian Bar president Salim Bashir echoed similar sentiments, saying: “It is baffling that to date, no arrest has been made against the ex-husband, with no explanation proffered on the actual probability of securing the child.”  

He recommended that the task force be equipped with the power to scrutinise police’s inability to execute the court orders.

Meanwhile, Sisters in Islam corporate communications officer Aleza Othman said Indira Gandhi’s situation cannot go unaddressed as it involves the matter of equality and the role enforcement agencies play in delivering justice for affected persons. 

“The main issue is to address agencies that did not act on the mandamus order compelling police to search for, retrieve and reunite Prasana Diksa with her mother,” she said, adding that Indira Gandhi’s situation is “gravely disturbing” as her legal rights are not realised despite having been recognised by the courts. 

She urged those who might be in a similar predicament as Indira Gandhi to speak up.

“When the government does not confer rights on a Malaysian, then the only option is to speak out louder,” she said, citing the campaign for Malaysian mothers to confer citizenship on their children born overseas and the fight for a law against sexual harassment, both of which have garnered vocal support.  

Aleza’s insight into the matter also took into account Malaysia winning one of 18 seats on the UN Human Rights Council for the 2022-24 term with 183 votes.  

Now that Malaysia is part of the UN Human Rights Council, it has become more imperative for the nation to display and manifest the upholding of human rights for all Malaysians.”

Two days ago, Klang MP Charles Santiago expressed his bafflement over the win and pointed out that others in the council, such as China, Venezuela, Cameroon, the United Arab Emirates, Eritrea and Russia, have also received global condemnation over their grave human rights violations.

In light of the apparent success, a consideration of one of Malaysia’s longest-running injustices serves as a grim reminder that the win should not erase the struggles still faced by vulnerable members of its society. – The Vibes, October 17, 2021