COMMENT BY YB PROF DR P. RAMASAMY, DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER II, PENANG
A divorced mother, Loh Siew Hong, 34, has made a police report in the Borderline Head, Penang, on February 12, 2022, yesterday said religious authorities in Perlis arrested her three children without her permission.
She received information from one person that her three children, two 14-year-old daughters (twins) and a 10-year-old son were in the custody of religious authorities in Perlis.
The child was in the care of her husband and mother-in-law, while the mother of the children was in a Special Shelter Home to recover from abuse. Apparently she was tortured and abused by her husband.
After she left the shelter, she divorced her husband and searched for her children.
When she called her mother-in-law, the location of the children was not revealed. Then someone called her to inform him that his children were in the custody of religious authorities in Perlis.
Since her children are Hindu, Loh did not reject the possibility that her husband had Islamized them before putting them under the custody of Islamic authorities in Perlis.
This is as if repeating what happened to Indira Gandhi’s children after she divorced her Muslim husband.
If Loh’s children are kidnapped, converted religion without permission and put under the care of religious authorities in Perlis, this is similar to kidnapping. This shows that the Islamic authorities in Perlis have no respect and blatantly violates the law.
If the matter above is true, the police must investigate and take action against the religious authorities in Perlis. The conversion of underage children to other religions without permission of both parents is a violation of the law. It’s unclear whether the child was unilaterally exchanged or not. It’s up to the police to make sure the matter is true.
They can’t push that to the religious authorities in Perlis. Indira Gandhi’s case is still clear in our memories.
The federal government has unilaterally rejected the conversion of religion by giving a decision in favor of mother, Indira. Tracing a child who was almost abducted by her divorced husband is still hard to understand.
In the case of Loh, the religious authorities in Perlis have played their role by taking over the rights of custody and making an important decision regarding the lives of the three children and may have changed the religion of the children.
Police in Any North Perai should not run away from doing their responsibilities in the case of Mrs Loh. Before the police report was made with the assistance provided by the State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) DAP, Satees Muniandy and MBSP Council member David Marshall, police told Loh to contact the religious authorities in Perlis.
Doesn’t this show the police are refusing or running from responsibility?
Police should have received the report to determine if his children were illegally ran away. If the child is abducted or run away, the police should take appropriate action.
Who is the police protecting in this matter?
I was informed that Loh has hired a lawyer who will file a Habeas Corpus application to court to obtain the release of the children to be under the legal custody of the mother.
