DAP chairperson Karpal Singh has urged the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to intervene in a custody row involving a Hindu father and his Muslim wife.

Muslim Raimah Bibi Noordin and her six children were detained by the Selangor religious authorities on April 2.

Two weeks later her husband P Marimuthu ( photo ) had filed a habeas corpus application claiming that his family members were Hindus and the detention of his wife and children illegal.

Marimuthu was on May 3 granted custody of the children after an agreement was made in Shah Alam High Court with Raimah. She will however not be allowed to live with her husband, but is granted access to her children.

As a result of the agreement, rubber tapper Marimuthu had withdrawn his habeas corpus application.

Speaking at the sidelines of the DAP special congress yesterday, Karpal said he was informed that Raimah had no where to turn to now.

"This is a big dilemma for Raimah Bibi if she goes back to Marimuthu's house she would be found in close proximity to him that would amount to khalwat.

"She is left in no-man's land. This has to be taken very seriously because a family should not be divided. In fact all religion (emphasises) unity of family," said Karpal, who was Marimuthu's counsel.

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He urged Abdullah to come out with an 'acceptable solution' to the dilemma, adding that it required very serious considerations as more of such complex problems would crop up in the future.

"(Raimah) had said in court she wants to go on steadfastly professing Islam, but Marimuthu is a Hindu. What is position of the children? Are they Hindu or Muslim? Half-Hindu or half-Muslim?" he added.

Previously, several religious authorities officers visited the couple's house in Kampung Baru Tambahan, Ulu Yam on April 2, where Marimuthu learned that his wife of 21 years was in fact a Muslim.

Following this, Raimah Bibi and their six children aged four to 12 were taken away to a religious 'rehabilitation centre'.

Marimuthu claimed that he did not know his wife was a practising Muslim prior to marriage and that they have been practising Hindus since. They were even married in a Hindu temple.

The marriage was not registered, and as such was not legal recognised.