Will Indira Ever See Justice In This Country

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For years, I have been covering the case of M Indira Gandhi, a mother who has mounted a tireless and heartbreaking pursuit to be reunited with her youngest child, Prasana Diksa.
Sixteen years on, it feels as though justice has never truly been served for Indira, who still clings to a fading hope that the state will one day bring her daughter home. Prasana was abducted by her father in 2009, when she was just 11 months old and still breastfeeding.
Despite countless pleas, legal victories, and an outpouring of public sympathy, the wait goes on.
Prasana, now 17 years old, along with her two elder siblings, became pawns in a cruel tug-of-war sparked by Riduan Abdullah’s unilateral and unlawful actions, a saga that has since come to symbolise the frailties of Malaysia’s justice system.
Indira turned to the civil courts to overturn the unilateral conversion of her children, securing both their custody and the nullification of their conversions.
This part of the battle had already drained her financially, mentally, physically, and emotionally. She then pursued legal battles to have Prasana returned to her care.
Yet, despite repeated court rulings in her favour, and following the tenure of six inspector-generals of police (IGP), beginning with Khalid Abu Bakar, enforcement has remained little more than an empty promise.
Riduan - formerly K Pathmanathan - is still at large, and Prasana remains “missing.” The police’s repeated assurances and the committees formed over the years have done little to console a mother whose anguish has been prolonged by inertia and bureaucratic indifference.
Even her RM100 million lawsuit alleging police inaction was dismissed, somewhat echoing that legal victories do not automatically translate into practical enforcement.
Cracks in the system
This case, more than any other, exposes the cracks in Malaysia’s justice system, one that often speaks the language of fairness, but struggles to uphold it when religion and politics intersect.
It raises troubling questions: What good are court rulings if they are not being enforced? What does it say about the rule of law when a mother must wait over a decade for a simple right to see her child again?
Indira’s ordeal is no longer just a personal tragedy; it has become a mirror reflecting how institutions falter when courage is most needed
Each passing year without resolution chips away at public confidence in the system’s ability to protect the vulnerable and to act without fear or favour.
With Riduan reportedly exploiting the Budi95 petrol subsidy and Rahmah Necessities Aid (Sara) while remaining hidden, one must ask why the authorities have been unable to locate him, given that these benefits for Malaysians can only be redeemed using a MyKad within the country.
This lapse does more than prolong a mother’s anguish; it strikes directly at the credibility of the police themselves, and, by any measure, this is not an accusation, but a fact that speaks for itself to the public.
Their own maxim, “polis dan masyarakat berpisah tiada,” now reads almost as a punchline, with Indira and her missing child seemingly erased from the very radar meant to safeguard them.
In 2018, I stood witness as Indira fought back tears while being presented with the Women of Courage Award by the United States embassy, presented by the then-ambassador, Kamala Shirin Lakhdir.
Yet no award could compensate for, or ease, the grief that this mother continues to endure. Her tears were not those of joy, but of profound bitterness. The bitterness of a mother forced to plead, over and over, for her child to be returned to her.
As someone who has never experienced motherhood and is trained to maintain composure for professional reasons, I felt her pain deeply.
I drove home that day in tears, unable to fathom why our authorities, with all the resources at their disposal, continue to allow this mother to be pushed back and forth without resolution.
Gather the IGPs, begin an RCI
At this point, taking decisive action would seem the obvious course, especially when answers are few and questions abound.
Six IGPs, each with their own commendable professional records, have been unable to locate Riduan, despite the high profile of the case and the resources available to the force.
It is worth noting that the Malaysian police are widely recognised for their counter-terrorism capabilities and strong regional partnerships. This raises serious questions about why, in this instance, enforcement has not yet been effective.
Former IGP Abdul Hamid BadorIn 2020, then-IGP Abdul Hamid Bador was reported in The Star as saying that he had his own method for ensuring the police located Prasana, and that he did not need to publicise how it would be done.
Hamid said he wanted a “happy ending” to the ordeal, yet provided no further details.
A Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) would therefore be the most appropriate course to allow the police to clarify the situation and prevent speculation or misunderstanding about delays.
The six IGPs who oversaw this high-profile case could provide explanations to safeguard public confidence in the force and its integrity.
If the state cannot secure justice for a mother whose pain is known to the entire nation, what hope remains for those without visibility or voice?
Until Prasana is found and reunited with her mother, no court pronouncement, no ministerial promise, can truly be called justice. - Mkini
YISWAREE PALANSAMY is a member of the Malaysiakini team.

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