Federal Court gives Muslim-convert father until tomorrow to appear in court

Muhammad Riduan was found to be in contempt of court for not adhering to a Ipoh High Court order for him to return his eight-year old daughter to his ex-wife, M. Indira Gandhi, a Hindu, 41.

A five-man bench led by Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin said if Muhammad Riduan, who is formerly known as K. Pathmanathan, did not turn up in court tomorrow, the court would proceed to hear Indira Gandhi's appeal over the validity of her three children's unilateral conversion to Islam.

The Federal Court would also decide tomorrow whether lawyer Hatim Musa could appear for Muhammad Riduan and make submissions in the appeal should Muhammad Riduan be absent from court.

Justice Zulkefli, who presided on the panel with Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judges Tan Sri Zainun Ali, Tan Sri Abu Samah Nordin and Tan Sri Ramly Ali subsequently adjourned the hearing of the appeal to tomorrow.

"Whatever it is, get instructions whether he can come or not. We will proceed tomorrow with or without him," Justice Zulkefli told Hatim.

At the onset of the appeal, Indira Gandhi's lawyer M. Kulasegaran raised a preliminary objection whether Hatim could represent Muhammad Riduan because he (Kulasegaran) said Muhammad Riduan did not have the right to be heard as he did not purge his contempt for disobeying a High Court order on May 30, 2014 to return his daughter to Indira Gandhi, a kindergarten teacher.

Hatim Musa, however, told the court that the last time he contacted his client was after the Court of Appeal decision last year in reinstating the conversion certificates of the couple's three children which was nullified by the Ipoh High Court.

He said after that he contacted Muhammad Riduan through third parties.

In the 2-1 majority decision, the Court of Appeal on Dec 30, last year ruled that the Civil High Court did not have the jurisdiction to decide on the validity of children's conversion which was under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Syariah Court to determine.

It allowed the appeal by the Perak Islamic Religious Department director, the Perak government, Registrar of converts, the Education Ministry and the government of Malaysia to set aside the Ipoh High Court ruling that the conversion certificates of the three children were null and void.

The children, two girls and a boy, now aged 19, 18, and eight years old were converted to Islam by their father Muhammad Riduan, 46, in April 2009 without Indira Gandhi's consent after his conversion to Islam. The children were then aged 12 and 11 years, and 11 months.