YOURSAY 'What the police say is utter garbage. The force is a civil, secular authority.'
Cops won't act against convert who snatched son
Aries46: This is ridiculous. From a layperson’s point of view the Syariah Court cannot give custody of the children to the father as his Muslim status itself is illegal in that his Hindu marriage to his wife was solemnised under civil law, which is legally binding on him and has not been dissolved at the time of his conversion to Islam.
He cannot abdicate his civil responsibilities simply by becoming a Muslim. So is the secret conversion of the children, notwithstanding that the mother has equal legal rights on them, legal?
As it stands, all that any scum - who wants to escape from his obligations under a marriage constituted under the civil law enactment - has to do is to convert to Islam, as what has happened in this case and many others previously.
This is a disgrace and travesty of justice for the authorities to close one eye and perpetuate a system such as this, where the legally recognised and innocent wife and children are allowed to be bullied and brought to the streets to seek justice, in the name religion.
FellowMalaysian: Inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar said the police force is bound by both the civil as well as syariah courtorders.
S Deepa's ex-husband has just committed a serious crime in snatching away her son and this is a criminal offence punishable with a jail sentence under the civil law. Why then is he not arrested?
Is the IGP taking the law into his own hands?
Negarawan: This case reflects a growing trend in which non-Muslim couples locked in bitter divorce and custody battles opt to convert themselves and their children to Islam without the knowledge of the other parent to seek protection from the religious authorities, police and syariah courts.
Non-Muslims perceive this as a ploy to obtain custody. While it is the right of Muslims to choose to be regulated by religious laws, this must not be at the expense of ignoring the rights of non-Muslims.
At the end of the day, the court decision must be in the best interest of the children. In the Izwan vs Deepa case, the decision by the civil court was in the children’s best interest.
As for the dud IGP, he has been very busy investigating mangosteens over the last three weeks and he still hasn’t got them figured out yet.
Syabas to judicial commissioner Vazeer Alam for making the landmark decision in removing legal immunity from the IGP and AG (attorney-general).
ACR: The mother in the child custody case, S Deepa, should file contempt proceedings and get the civil court to issue a warrant of arrest against the ex-husband.
What the police say is utter garbage. The police force is a civil, secular authority. It is beholden to the civil court system. Does Khalid know the Police Act?
The Rover: This IGP has spoken in contempt of a superior court order since:
1) The Syariah Court is an inferior tribunal to the High Court.
2) The High Court order effectively sets aside/quashes the Syariah Court order (Khalid does not even seem to understand this, and he is the IGP).
Indeed, the petitioner ought to cite the IGP for contempt. She ought to initiate committal proceedings against the recalcitrant convert who is a disgrace to his religion.
Patriot1: Hello, the High Court rules according to the country's constitution while the Syariah Court rules on religious grounds.
I believe in the event of any contradicting judgments, the High Court decision shall prevail, unless they're telling us the Syariah Court can overrule the constitution.
The least the police can do is to check with the legal authorities rather than to sit on their backside. As someone has pointed out, forcibly abducting and detaining a child is tantamount to kidnapping.
I'm sure there is a legal department in PDRM or least somebody who is a qualified lawyer.
Fairperson: IGP, are you a civil servant or not? Do you take orders from the Syariah Court or civil court? Make your stand clear.
It is very disturbing to hear from our IGP that he can't intervene in S Deepa's plight to uphold the High Court's decision and this is definitely the wrong signal to the international community.
Fairnessforall: Obviously, Khalid is an idiot. S Deepa's marriage was a civil marriage, the children were born out of their civil marriage, hence the civil court order is above the Syariah Court's. With these kinds of idiots heading the police force, no wonder crime keeps increasing.
So if the police do not act, that means they are leaving it open for the people to act and get hold of the fellow and beat the hell out of him, is that what the police wants?
Ex Malayan: The sheer stupidity of the IGP is just astounding. If you can't investigate the 'kidnapping' of S Deepa's son, then investigate the assault on her. Or is assault on his wife also under syariah jurisdiction?
P Dev Anand Pillai: If the police respond like this, S Deepa's only way out is to wallop the husband and take the children out of the country and seek asylum in other friendly countries, and highlight this issue internationally.
Selsub: The government is preaching equality and justice for Muslims in the Philippines and other countries, but in Malaysia the non-Muslims are being treated unfairly.
What does it take to stop government oppression on non-Muslims? Only time will tell.
Wira: With two sets of laws, our Parliament is waiting for citizens to take the law into their own hands according to their own interpretation, since the authorities cannot make a decision.
Multi Racial: Oh my goodness. I can't believe this came from the IGP.
Is he saying he doesn’t recognise the High Court decision, which is the superior court? What if it the other way around? Is he going to say the same thing?
I think it is time for him to resign from his position. This is certainly unacceptable by any standard.
If we have the head of law enforcement agency who does not respect the court and the law, how do you expect the rest of the police force to behave? Is he advocating a lawless society?
I would like to see what the BN government will do. Let’s see what BN parliamentarians will say, especially those from non-Umno component parties.
Jibtuya: When I was in the police force, I was never taught about syariah law. Only civil law. It's only now that I am hearing that the police have to know syariah law as well.
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