KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — M. Indira Gandhi has today sought an explanation from the government on how her fugitive ex-husband was able to abscond from the country, following the home minister’s claim earlier today.

Indira added that the Home Ministry must take a more serious approach in dealing with efforts to trace her missing daughter rather than merely informing her that Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah was no longer in the country.

"I am very exhausted by the unreasonable [explanations] given by the higher authorities in this country. It is a shame and disappointment to this whole nation,” she was quoted saying.

This was in response to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin stating that her Muslim convert ex-husband was believed to be living abroad and regularly relocating to avoid detection.

She also pointed out that five inspector-generals of police have served since the time her daughter, Prasana Diksa, was taken by her ex-husband in 2009 when she was just 11 months old, shortly after converting to Islam. He had also converted their three children to Islam without Indira’s knowledge.

After a protracted court battle, the Federal Court ruled in January 2018 that the unilateral conversions of Indira’s children were unlawful.

However, the police have yet to recover Prasana and return her to Indira despite the decision and a previous mandamus order she secured compelling the IGP to execute the recovery.

"How could Riduan have left the country when his passport has [allegedly] expired and Prasana has no proper documentation with her?”

"Is our court system a failure or is there a hidden agenda behind all this?” she said, adding that none of the IGPs could provide a "proper report” on the whereabouts of her missing child.

She also said her two other children, aged 22 and 21, were coping and aware of the ongoing search for their younger sibling.

Indira also said plans for a hunger strike on September 11 were still in motion unless she or the Indira Gandhi Action Team (Ingat) representing her received concrete news on Prasana by Inspector General of police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador by August 31.

Meanwhile in a statement, Ingat chairman Arun Dorasamy dismissed the ministry’s excuse that the fugitive was hard to track and he believed Prasana was still in the country.

Arun claimed Muhammad Ridhuan could be somewhere at the border region of Golok, Thailand, near the Kelantan border and has been returning to Malaysia to meet with his new wife and family.

Arun also questioned why the authorities have yet to blacklist Muhammad Riduan’s passport, which purportedly expired in 2019.

He also alleged no request was made to Thailand's enforcement authorities to trace him nor were attempts made to question Riduan’s new wife.

"We manage to confirm with Thai police officers that there were no formal requests from the Home Ministry or police of any sort in regards to fugitive Muhammad Riduan or Prasana Diksa.

"Ingat’s investigative team is confident Prasana is in the country, and Riduan can be tracked within the southern border region and northern Malaysia," he said.