In taking Izwan to task over his comments in an interview with The Malaysian Insider, MCA Religious Harmony Bureau chief Ti Lian Ker said Izwan, and others like him should not be allowed to override the rule of law by hiding behind Islam.
Izwan had in the interview said that he would snatch Sharmila away if she was taken to a Hindu temple or given non-halal food.
In commenting on Izwan’s threat, Ti told FMT it was unfortunate that he seemed unrepentant about his intentions to break the law again after he had done so when he abducted his son Mithran from Deepa in 2014 although she was the boy’s rightful guardian at the time.
“In the name of public interest, Izwan and others like him should be reprimanded or reminded that they cannot play God or invoke the name of God to break or breach the law,” he said, adding Izwan’s threats were of “grave concern.”
The former assemblyman said that he was initially dismayed after Izwan was awarded custodial rights of this son despite being in contempt of violating a 2014 High Court order. Ti also said action should have been taken against Izwan at the time he abducted the boy.
Ti said this alone rendered Izwan unfit to bring up the child since he had no respect for the law or spirit of the rule of law and that it was in his child’s interest that the boy be kept away from people like his father who had criminal tendencies.
Last Wednesday, the Federal Court granted Izwan custody of eight-year-old Mithran, while Deepa got custody of 10-year-old Sharmila after the judges interviewed both children.
The court also ruled that only Civil courts and not Syariah courts, had the right to decide on the custody of children converted to Islam.