LETTER | In the annals of political theatre, few performances rival M Kulasegaran’s dramatic exit and re-entry into the M Indira Gandhi custody saga.

Back in 2018, fresh off a Federal Court victory, Kulasegaran, the lawyer for Indira then, declared his “duty is done”.

Appointed human resources minister, he promptly distanced himself from the case, citing ministerial constraints and the need to “mind his business”.

Fast forward to 2025. Kulasegaran, now the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), has dusted off his Indira file and rebranded himself as a crusader for justice.

Under public scrutiny, he’s vowed to “continue fighting” and announced plans to arrange a meeting with the inspector-general of police (IGP).

A meeting after 16 years of legal wrangling, defied court orders and police inertia; this bureaucratic gesture feels more like a PR stunt than a serious intervention.

Let’s be clear, arranging a meeting isn’t action, it’s administrative. The public isn’t asking for another round of polite conversations.

They’re demanding enforcement, accountability, and results. But Kulasegaran’s political choreography doesn’t stop there.

Remember GE14? He and his DAP colleagues paraded the claim that 300,000 Malaysian Indians were stateless, a number so inflated it could’ve floated a hot air balloon across the peninsula.

It was a campaign - emotional, urgent, and headline-grabbing. And once the votes were secured? Silence. No policy. No follow-up. Just the sound of promises evaporating into thin air.

This isn’t just flip-flopping - it’s political gaslighting. Leaders like Kulasegaran bank on the public’s forgetfulness, assuming outrage has an expiry date.

But the people remember. They remember the promises, the press conferences, the photo sessions and the abandonment that followed.

The Ipoh Barat MP once stood beside Indira when her ex-husband abducted their daughter, Prasana Diksa, in 2009.

Sixteen years later, despite court orders and national outcry, Prasana remains missing. Her mother remains in limbo.

And Kulasegaran? He’s back with a meeting request.

This isn’t redemption, it’s reputation management. And unless it leads to real action, it’s just another chapter in a long saga of political theatre.

Justice delayed is justice denied. And justice disguised as a calendar appointment is an insult to every mother still waiting.

M VIVEKANANTHAN is an aide to MIC deputy president and Tapah MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.