Why was an Indian Malaysian lawyer who allegedly converted to Islam five years ago cremated according to Hindu rituals?

This was the question posed by Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Johor-based lawyer RR Mahendran @ Rafie Syzwan Abdullah, 40, died last Tuesday from a heart attack. He reportedly converted after marrying his second wife, who is a Muslim.

However, his remains were cremated at the Hindu cremation centre in Jalan Kota Tinngi, Johor, by his family.

"The question is how could his funeral, which was supposed to be carried out according to Islamic rituals end up being done according to Hindu rituals instead?" Salahuddin asked in an emergency motion he tabled.

Salahuddin, who heads the Youth wing of the Islamic opposition party PAS, described the incident as a 'tragedy'.

Why did it happen?

The MP said it was important to debate the matter in the House in order to seek an explanation from the responsible parties on whether the incident was due to negligence.

He also sought to establish whether there was any involvement of those who "wanted to challenge and interfere into the affairs of other religions, especially matters pertaining to Muslim practices."

"It is appropriate for this House to debate the matter in a rational manner," he said.

However, Speaker Ramli Ngah Talib rejected the motion, saying that it was not urgent enough to be debated although it was a matter involving public interest.

"The state religious department is investigating this, let us wait for the development," he said.

Salahuddin told reporters at the Parliament lobby later that he had raised the issue in order to understand what had transpired and find a 'proper way' to avoid similar incidents in future.

"I did not mean to create any religious hatred. As PAS Youth chief, I have told my members not to overreact to this piece of news as we can't take law into our hands," he added.

He stressed that the matter should be settled through the proper channels.

"Like (the case of) M Moorthy , he was declared a Muslim by the court and was therefore buried as one. The court ruled that Nyonya Tahir was not a Muslim and we accepted this," he said.

'Malay-Christian society'

In another development, Home Ministry parliamentary secretary Abdul Rahman Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat there is no such thing as a Malay-Christian Society here.

He was responding to Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin) who claimed that he received a SMS regarding the existence of this society.

"Based on our record which is the Registrar of Societies (ROS), there is no record of an association or society registered under the name 'Malay-Christian society'," Abdul Rahman said.

"If Jasin (Mohd Said) gets a clear report that such a society existed, please file a report with the ROS and we will investigate and take the necessary action," he added.