Indira Gandhi said her struggle was no longer just about a mother’s grief, but a national question of justice.
KUALA LUMPUR: “Where is my daughter?”
That was the plea that echoed through the streets of Kuala Lumpur this morning as M. Indira Gandhi led a march to Bukit Aman, pushing a stroller carrying her missing child’s teddy bear while supporters chanted: “PDRM! PDRM! Enough is enough, bring back Prasana!”
The Justice March, which began moving from SOGO at about 11.03am, drew supporters across races holding placards and photographs of Prasana Diksa, who was taken from Indira in 2009 when she was just 11 months old.
For the 16th year, Indira walked again – this time surrounded by hundreds demanding action from authorities.
Addressing the crowd before the march began, Indira Gandhi said her struggle was no longer just about a mother’s grief, but a national question of justice.
“This is a mother’s plea to see my own daughter after almost 16 years. No mother should go through what I went through.
“Is it so difficult for the police to find Prasana? We have good police in Malaysia, but why must this drag for 16 years? Where is she? Why do I have to wait this long?”
Indira added that two other mothers approached her this morning, saying they too were trapped in similar unilateral-conversion disputes.
“It is disappointing that in our own beloved country, people like us must go through so much hardship. I hope today we can send a strong message to the IGP,” she said.
Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran, who represented Indira as counsel in the early years of the case, told supporters the system had fundamentally failed her.
“We are all here because we are angry. Sixteen years and still no results.
“When people are not satisfied, they go to court. And even with the court orders we have, enforcement still does not happen.”
Citing repeated drives to Putrajaya and the courts, he said the government could no longer claim inability.
“The fugitive is roaming around Malaysia. Money is not the issue – there are mechanisms to find him. The government cannot say they cannot locate him,” he said.
Former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim went further, calling the stalemate a structural failure of Malaysia’s dual-court system.
“Indira’s case is not going to be the last. As long as the government sees this as a religious issue, the Syariah Court will not accept the civil court’s decision, and the police will not enforce it,” he said.
He urged the Prime Minister to establish an impartial, interfaith-competent court:
“If you can grant citizenship to seven footballers in a week, don’t tell me you cannot resolve 16 years of a mother’s grief.”
Social activist Marina Mahathir reminded the crowd that the child herself now lives with the consequences.
“She’s 17 now – she has a phone, she’s on social media. She would know she was separated from her mother. What has she been told?
“Religion is being weaponised to justify injustice. No religion teaches cruelty.”
Former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan called the situation “a national shame”.
“We should be ashamed that court after court has issued orders, yet enforcement agencies ignore them.
“Find Prasana. Find the child. Reunite her with her mother immediately.”
The march is expected to reach Bukit Aman shortly, where Ingat chairman Arun Dorasamy says they “will not leave until the IGP himself comes down to receive the memorandum”.
