Use Federal Court to resolve child custody cases - Najib

The Prime Minister today urged families involved in child custody cases to use the Federal Court to resolve them.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the government believes that the court will consider giving priority to the cases.

"The Attorney-General will consult with the affected families. I hope everyone will respect the court's decision," he said in a statement today.

"The Appeals Court last month dismissed the application of Muslim convert N. Viran (Izwan Abdullah) to set aside the Seremban High Court decision giving custody of her two children to their mother S. Deepa, a Hindu.

In another case, M Indira Gandhi got a Ipoh High Court order early this year to cite her former husband K. Patmanathan for contempt of court after failing to handover their youngest child, Prasana Diksa,6. The order was made according to the High Court decision on March 11, 2010.

In April 2009, the Ipoh Syariah High Court gave custody of their three children, Abu Bakar (Karan Dinish), Ummu Salamah (Tevi Darsiny) and Prasana Diksa (Ummu Habibah) to their Muslim convert father K. Patmanathan (Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah).