No proof of conversion, group wants Surinder buried according to Sikh rites

Members of the Sikh community have expressed concern over the alleged conversion of a Punjabi woman who died on Monday after sustaining head injuries in an assault.

Young Men Sikh Association of Penang adviser Harjinder Singh said today that the community wants to set the record straight on Surinder Kaur Bedi's death, as it does not wish to disrupt national harmony.

“We just want to get the truth, and we have come to an understanding with the Penang Mufti Department after we met their officials this morning,” he said at a press conference in Bayan Baru.

Harjinder and several others met with the Fatwa Department head Mohd Hanif Omar and two other officers, Mohamad Zaki Abdul Halim and Fakhrurazi Md Mahadzir in Komtar earlier in the day.

The meeting was positive and harmonious, he said, as the Mufti Department officers were open for discussion.

As Penang Mufti Wan Salim Mohd Noor was in Kuala Lumpur today, the group will be meeting him for a more "serious discussion" on Friday at 3pm.

“Firstly, we have decided that only we – the Sikh community and the Penang Mufti Department – can issue statements, not anyone else, so that there will be no hanky-panky in the matter," he said.

'No proof of conversion'

Harjinder stressed that today's meeting was to ensure that a similar misunderstanding does not recur in the future, so that religious harmony can be preserved in Penang.

“If Surinder had truly converted to Islam, and there is proof, we have no issues with her being buried according to Muslim rites.

“However, if she is still a Sikh, we would like to exhume the body so we can bury her according to Sikh rites,” he said.

Harjinder pointed out that the Penang Islamic Department (JAIPP) had not registered Surinder's conversion.

Read more: Tearful mother pleads for all to let Surinder rest in peace

Asked what rights they have over her family to claim the body, Harjinder said: "The family may have rights over her body, but not her religion.

"As Sikhs, we have the right to preserve our religion and protect our believers."

Though admitting that it could not be confirmed if Surinder was a practising the faith, Harjinder noted that she had stayed a Sikh despite the rest of her family converting to Islam 20 to 25 years ago.

“We do not monitor who comes and goes into our temples, so we do not want to say if she were a practising Sikh or not.

“The fact remains that her new identity card carries her Sikh name, and there are no records of her conversion,” he told reporters.

Surinder was unconscious

Harjinder then highlighted several “doubtful” points that were raised with the Penang Mufti Department, including Surinder being totally unconscious from the time she was injured until her death in the Penang General Hospital.

Another point of contention is that Surinder's purported conversion was endorsed in the mufti's letter dated April 1, the same day she had died.

Harjinder said the department was also asked about Muslim conversion procedures, and whether these were complied with in Surinder's case.

He also queried whether the testimony of Surinder's brother, Imran Khan Mohamad Qurban Ali, that his sister declared her faith in front of him could hold water.

“It is just their words against ours. There must be something in black and white, proper procedures to follow," he said. "She was unconscious, so how did she convert?"

Harjinder said he and two others have lodged a police report for the case to be investigated.

He added that the police and told him that the body was released to Surinder’s family on basis of the mufti’s letter, and no one had since sought to claim the body.

Other than Harjinder, others present at the press conference were association president Hardeep Singh, and members Naamjit Singh, Sarvinder Kaur, and Shaarad Ram Singh.

No record of Sikh woman's conversion, says Penang Islamic Dept

Sikh woman's conversion to Islam disputed