Read related article :
- "Hindu Rubber Tapper Unites with his Children, but Being Denied for Wife: A Very Cruel Decision in the Name of Islam " and HERE
- "Solomon’s Justice or the Destruction of a Family? "
- "Malaysia's Untenable Future: The Clash between Modernity and Religious Supremacy "
Rubber Tapper, P.Marimuthu, the Hindu father
(Photo courtesy of Malaysiakini)
Raimah had NO where to turn to now.
According to Karpal Singh:
"This is a big dilemma for Raimah Bibi – if she goes back to Marimuthu's house she would be found in close proximity to him that would amount to khalwat.
She is left in no-man's land. This has to be taken very seriously because a family should not be divided.
In fact all religion (emphasises) unity of family.
(Raimah) had said in court she wants to go on steadfastly professing Islam, but Marimuthu is a Hindu. What is position of the children? Are they Hindu or Muslim? Half-Hindu or half-Muslim?"
He urged the Prime Minister to come out with an 'acceptable solution' to the dilemma, adding that it required very serious considerations as more of such complex problems would crop up in the future.
Raimah Bibi and their six children – aged four to 12 – were taken away to a religious 'rehabilitation centre' by the Islamic religious authorities.
Marimuthu claimed that he did not know his wife was a practising Muslim prior to marriage and that they have been practising Hindus since. They were even married in a Hindu temple.
The marriage was not registered, and as such was not legally recognised.
COMMENTARY:
By Z. Ibrahim: "Ijok By-election Results : Indians may yet pay a heavy price": Read here for more
".... the Indians had to be the revelation (at the Ijok by-election).
This is the group that had been hogging the headlines prior to the elections regarding the religious unfairness pertaining to:
- the burials of Murthi, Rayappan,
- Subashini losing her children to her newly-converted husband and, of course,
- Marimuthu Periasamy being forcibly separated from his wife and six children.
- the Hindu community applied for various injunctions to prevent demolitions of their Hindu temples.
But what the world saw was solid support from the Indians for the very party responsible for all these injustices done to them.
Reasons for their voting trend was that these Indians were poor and ‘marginalised’.
The rationale was apparently food on the table in exchange for complete support of the MIC and BN and this was more important than constitutional rights and religious differences.
Sad indeed.
For everyone knows, like Gandhi, that there is no struggle without pain.
The Indians were NOT willing to sacrifice for their rights and religion.
Let us all hope that the ‘benefits’ that the Indian community profited from in this election will not in any way compromise their basic human and religious rights in this country in the near future.
If it does, unlike the Malays and Chinese, the Indian community may have to pay a HEAVY price for the future rights of the average Indian in Malaysia.
Racially, the Malays appeared to be quite divided if not downright violent if all those pictures wired down to every Internet user were anything to go by.
It appears that based on this by-election alone, Malaysia may be heading for some very drastic changes in the near future.
But the Chinese appear to have made it clear that they wouldn’t like their blood to be bathed on the proverbial kris of Hishammuddin Hussein and had no qualms letting the ruling party know that they are switching to the opposition.
No one can really blame them. It appears that their very future and survival in this country has been questioned and both MCA and Gerakan’s muddled explanations only exacerbated the situation further causing many Chinese feel that these parties did not stand up for their basic rights.
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