Courageous Heart: police

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Friday, April 7, 2017

Di Mana Mereka? Where Are They?

Pastor Joshua Hilmy and wife, Ruth; Pastor Raymond Koh; and Amri Che Mat had two things in common – they were all religious workers helping the poor and needy. The other similarity among the four is more ominous – they have all disappeared without a trace. The first to disappear was Amri on November 24 last year, followed by Hilmy and wife several days later on November 30 and Koh on February 13 this year. And it is their disappearance, which has raised concerns among their families, civil society and religious bodies, who want answers from the authorities. Below are details of the missing four:

Pastor Raymond Koh

The 62-year-old was abducted after a group of well-trained men stopped his silver Honda Accord along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya. CCTV footage of Koh’s abduction went viral on social media, showing a professionally executed abduction involving more than 10 men in three black SUVs. Police had previously arrested 31-year-old Lam Chang Nam, who was later charged with blackmailing Koh’s son, Jonathan. But police said he was not involved in the abduction of Koh. There has been no ransom demand made for Koh’s release. His family have offered a RM100,000 reward for information on his whereabouts. Local media reported that Koh and his NGO, Haparan Komuniti, were accused of proselytising Muslims, following a raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) at a thanksgiving dinner in 2011. Church groups have been rallying around Koh’s family in a show of support.

Pastor Joshua Hilmy and Ruth

Hilmy’s disappearance was first highlighted in an Australian website, xyz.net.au, on February 23, 10 days after Koh’s abduction. It was reported that the pastor of Malay descent, who was also a former Muslim, went missing on November 30, 2016. The article stated that Hilmy had received threatening phone calls prior to his disappearance. It said Hilmy’s car was also missing. Petaling Jaya police chief Mohd Zani Che Din had told TheSun daily that police didn’t have enough information on the background of Hilmy and his wife Ruth, who is believed to be missing, too. Police, however, confirmed that a report was lodged by a man who claimed to be a close friend of Hilmy and his wife on March 6. Zaini told TheSun that the report was lodged in Klang but the case was referred to PJ police, as the complainant said the missing duo lived in Kampung Tunku, Petaling Jaya. The case was classified as a missing persons’ report.

Amri Che Mat

Amri’s case resurfaced after opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail held a press conference on March 23, highlighting the disappearance of the 43-year-old social activist from Perlis. Amri, who was part of the 1997 Mount Everest Malaysian expedition team, went missing on the night of November 24, 2016, after he reportedly told his eldest daughter that he was going out. His wife, Norhayati Ariffin, 43, who lodged a police report the next day, said there were cars and bikes parked near their house when her husband left home. The vehicles had their lights off despite having occupants. Amri’s car was found about 20km away from his house, near an abandoned sports school. Norhayati said her husband did not receive any threatening calls and there were no abnormal transactions in his bank accounts.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Malaysia: Crackdown on Freedom

Published on 14 May 2015 by Al Jazeera.

Meet the Malaysians arrested under a controversial law that critics say is being used to silence government opponents.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Malaysia to retain and prop up Sedition Act, says PM

Published by Reuters on 27 Nov 2014.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday bolstered a law protecting the sanctity of Islam and the country's traditional rulers, the sultans, in an about-turn to scrap a law banning criticism of the government.

Najib pledged in 2012 to repeal the Sedition Act - a relic of the British colonial era intended to keep a tight lid on racial tensions and social unrest in the multi-ethnic country - as part of a raft of liberal reforms to promote openness.

Rights groups and lawyers have criticized the Sedition Act, saying it inhibits freedom of speech.

The Malaysian leader told a meeting of his ruling United Malays National Party (UMNO) party that the act would be maintained and strengthened.

The 1948 Sedition Act, which criminalizes speech with an undefined "seditious tendency", will be boosted with additions to defend the sanctity of Islam, and penalize those who call for the separation of Sabah and Sarawak states from Malaysia, said Najib.

In a flurry of cases this year, Malaysian prosecutors have charged anti-government activists and opposition politicians with sedition. Out of more than a dozen prosecutions under the Act this year, at least five have centered on comments voiced about the sultans or their powers.

The three-party opposition, which has eroded the ruling coalition's majority in two straight elections, says the Sedition Act is being employed selectively against its members, allies and social activists to undermine the alliance.

(Reporting By Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah and Ebrahim Harris; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

Link:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/27/us-malaysia-sedition-idUSKCN0JB0BG20141127?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Shame on you UMNO bigots!

A coalition of Muslim non-governmental organisations, Klang Muslim Solidarity Secretariat, gathered at the Sultan Sulaiman Stadium on Sunday to protest the use of the word "Allah" by Christians.The coalition was protesting a statement allegedly made by Catholic priest and editor of The Herald weekly Father Lawrence Andrew, who had reportedly said that churches in Selangor would continue to use the word 'Allah' in reference to God in their weekend services. His remark sparked protests from several Muslim non-governmental bodies, including Selangor Umno members.

UMNO Kapar division deputy chief Datuk Saroni Judi said Sunday that Father Lawrence must apologise or face a “mega-demonstration” displaying their dissatisfaction. The issue came to the fore after the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) officers raided and seized 351 copies of Bahasa Malaysia and Iban language versions of the Bible which contained the word 'Allah' from the Bible Society of Malaysia on Thursday.

Jais had earlier reminded all churches in Selangor to comply with the prohibition on the use of the word 'Allah' as provided for under the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988. "This is us Muslims giving our support to Jais to conduct raids and uphold the law against churches so that the latter complies with state laws," Saroni said.

Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir took a swipe at the country's leadership for the handling of the JAIS raid and the Allah issue today, saying it is a shame that they are not making a stand against religious tolerence. "Everyone has been complaining that the leadership's silence is deafening. It's far from elegant and certainly incriminating."

"The last time when churches were burnt he wasn't present either," said the daughter of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, declining to confirm if she was referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

She described last Thursday's raid conducted by JAIS (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) on the Bible Society of Malaysia as "despicable" and something that should have never happened.

During the raid, about 300 copies of the Bible in the Malay and Iban languages were seized. "You should never enter others' house of worship without permission. I think they (BSM) should go ahead and take legal action against JAIS as they don't have jurisdiction (over Christians)."

"Forget Visit Malaysia 2014, who wants to visit a Bible grabbing country?" said Marina.

Several conservative Malay and Muslim groups also threatened to protest outside churches in Selangor but police persuaded them to demonstrate elsewhere while tightening security around the churches.

Today, Father Andrew also thanked parishioners for getting together and guarding the church over the last two nights. Before and after mass, many parishioners went up to him and held his hands in theirs, offering him words of support and encouragement. One lady, who said she was from rights group Suaram, quietly walked up to him, clasped his hands in hers and said: "You have our support, Father".

More than the usual number of Catholic lawyers also attended the Sunday mass at the church today as a show of support and also to be at hand if any untoward incidents took place. One of them was KL Catholic Lawyers Society president Viola Decruz, who had gone to the church of Our Lady of Lourdes before coming to the church in Port Klang. "It was good to see Muslims there at Our Lady of Lourdes church who did not come to protest but who came to support the church's stand on freedom to be able to practise one's religion," Decruz said.

Another lawyer, Ramesh Supramaniam, said he came to defuse the situation in case protestors turned up. Klang MP Charles Santiago, who came to hear Father Andrew say mass, said when he was at the Our Lady of Lourdes church earlier in the morning, a Muslim wearing a songkok walked up to him and told him, "Please tell your priest we are here to support him". Santiago urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to censure Selangor Umno chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar over his statements on the issue. "He should stop threatening the peace and security in the country. We know that Umno is doing this for its survival but as PM of all people, he should take stern action against Noh Omar," he added.

He also lambasted the burning of Father Andrew's effigy by protesters several days ago. "The Prime Minister must speak up on this issue or risk being labelled an extremist as well," Santiago said. A parishioner, Vanitha, 41, said she was pained to see Father Andrew's effigy being burned. "We are so hurt but we are not going to react because of our faith in God. Those people who did it are answerable to God," she said, looking downcast.

The very people the 'Allah' issue was centred on, the Bahasa Malaysia speaking community in peninsular Malaysia, also expressed sadness over the current goings-on affecting their faith. "How can it come to this. Go to the interiors of Sarawak, we all call God, Allah. We are the same people from those interiors who are here now working in small jobs as factory operators. All we want to do is to earn a decent living and pray in our language. Why are people denying us that basic right," said one mother holding a newborn baby in her arms after attending Father Andrew's mass. Her friend added, "Will they now come to our homes and threaten us like criminals because we use the Alkitab?" she asked, referring to the Malay translation of the Bible.

"Is this the 1Malaysia they are talking about, denying us our right to pray in our own language?" said the woman of Iban origin.

As parishioners left the church compound after Sunday school ended peacefully, it was not quite over yet for the church, in particular for Father Andrew. On Tuesday, he is scheduled to meet Selangor state councillor in charge of Islamic affairs, Sallehin Mukhyi. But he will not be alone. Santiago and Sri Andalas assemblyman Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, who was also in church today, told Father Andrew they would accompany him for the meeting.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Berkhidmat Untuk Umno Atau Rakyat?

Ini diharamkan:

Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) akan berbincang dengan pihak polis bagi menentukan tindakan susulan terhadap penganjur perhimpunan haram di Dataran Merdeka malam tadi. Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib berkata pihaknya akan memutuskan tindakan lanjut terhadap penganjur perhimpunan itu setelah satu mesyuarat khas diadakan.

“Setakat ini DBKL belum mengenal pasti apa tindakan yang akan diambil…sama ada tindakan saman kepada penganjur atau tindakan-tindakan lain yang sesuai,” katanya kepada Bernama di sini hari ini.

Perhimpunan haram itu yang dianjurkan badan bukan kerajaan (NGO), dihadiri kira-kira 4,000 peserta telah merencatkan konsert Ambang Tahun Baharu anjuran DBKL yang terpaksa dihentikan setengah jam sebelum detik jam 12 malam ekoran peserta perhimpunan menyerbu masuk ke Dataran Merdeka.

Polis menamakan empat NGO sebagai terlibat dalam penganjuran perhimpunan haram berkenaan iaitu Gerakan Turun Kos Sara Hidup, Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM), Jingga 13 dan Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM).

Mengulas mengenai jumlah kerugian, Ahmad Phesal berkata DBKL setakat ini belum menerima apa-apa laporan kerugian peralatan atau harta benda susulan perhimpunan haram itu.

Link:

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/01/01/perhimpunan-haram-dbkl-bincang-dengan-polis-tindakan-susulan/

Pengerusi Gerakan Turun Kos sara Hidup (TURUN) Azan Safar mengisytiharkan perhimpunan malam tadi sebagai satu kejayaan ekoran kehadiran seramai 10,000 ribu orang membanjiri Dataran Merdeka untuk membantah kenaikan kos sara hidup.

Azan berkata kehadiran ramai peserta pada malam tadi menandakan sokongan dan reaksi mereka terhadap semua kenaikan tersebut, walaupun pihak berkuasa mengancam mengambil tindakan dan melaber acara tersebut sebagai perhimpunan haram.

"Tahniah Rakyat. Himpunan TURUN berjaya. Terima kasih buat seluruh rakyat Malaysia, dari orang kenamaan sehingga rakyat marhaen yang telah berhimpun secara aman dan bersurai sebaik tamat sambutan Tahun baru 2014.

"Tahniah kepada rakyat yang berjaya menganjurkan himpunan buat rakyat pada malam ini," katanya melalui sistem pesanan WahtsApp kepada Malaysiakini.

Beliau turut merakam penghargaan kepada pihak berkuasa yang memberikan kerjasama terbaik dalam memastikan himpunan malam ini berlangsung dengan aman. Berdasarkan laporan, polis tidak membuat sebarang penahanan ke atas mana-mana peserta perhimpunan tersebut.

Link: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/250635

Tetapi ini dibenarkan:

Seramai 70 anggota dan pemimpin Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) Selangor, yang diketuai Yang Dipertuanya, Abu Bakar Yahya, membuat bantahan secara aman di depan Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah di Shah Alam hari ini.

Tunjuk perasaan itu berlangsung selepas Perkasa Selangor membuat laporan polis pada 2.30 petang terhadap Pengarang mingguan Katolik Herald Paderi Lawrence Andrew berhubung satu kenyataan yang dikeluarkannya dalam The Malaysian Insider Jumaat lepas.

Link:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/bahasa/article/perkasa-selangor-bantah-kenyataan-pengarang-herald

Link: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/243249

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Oh My 1Malaysia!

The owner of the resort in Kota Tinggi who allowed a group of Buddhist monks to meditate in a surau there has been remanded for four days. The Star online reported court registrar Hairul Azhar Mohamad issued the remand order today against the resort owner who is a Singaporean with Malaysian permanent resident status.

The 45-year-old man was arrested on Sunday afternoon at the Tanjung Sutera Resort and is currently being investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.

His arrest came after a YouTube video portrayed a group who looked like monks conducting religious prayers in a surau, leading a group in meditation in front of a portrait of Buddha. The 63-second video called "Chinese Buddhist pray in surau: surau becomes temple" was uploaded on Aug 10 and has generated more than 10,000 views.

It was reported in Berita Harian yesterday that the resort owner defended his action saying that he did not think the action of giving permission to believers of other religions to use the surau was wrong.

He was quoted as saying: “This is because they only wanted to use the surau for meditation. "So we allowed them to use the surau in the resort but their bringing other religious items into the surau was done without my knowledge."

Link:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/resort-owner-remanded-for-allowing-buddihist-monks-to-use-surau-for-meditat

A Scottish church has become the first in the UK to share its premises with Muslim worshippers. St John’s Episcopal Church in Aberdeen now welcomes hundreds of Muslims praying five times a day in their building as the nearby mosque was so small that they were forced to worship outside.

The minister of St John's, Rev Isaac Poobalan, has handed over part of the church hall to Chief Imam Ahmed Megharbi and the imam has led prayers in the main chapel. Rev Poobalan said today that he would not be true to his faith if he did not offer to help. He said: 'Praying is never wrong. My job is to encourage people to pray.

'The mosque was so full at times, there would be people outside in the wind and rain praying. 'I knew I couldn’t just let this happen - because I would be abandoning what the Bible teaches us about how we should treat our neighbours.

'When I spoke to people at the church about the situation, someone actually said to me this was not our problem, but I had seen it with my own eyes, so it was a problem. Rev Poobalan said: 'They were out there praying and the snow came on for the first time in winter, it was really hard to watch. 'When they were doing the prayer they had their hands and feet exposed and they were sitting on on the pavement, which is very rough. 'You could even see them breathing because it was so cold and I think when I saw that, the visual impact was such that I just couldn't walk past.

'It felt wrong, mainly because the church is next door, it's a big building and it remains empty on a Friday lunchtime which is when they need the place most as that's when they are at their busiest. 'We had something we could offer and they were just standing out in the cold and I said to my congregation "we need to do something".'

Rev Poobalan said he wanted the move to help build bridges between Christians and Muslims after some initial resistance from his congregation about the move. He said: 'It's a move that is so basic and fundamental. It has nothing to do with religion - it's all based on human need. 'The religious divide shouldn't divide us as people.

'But I anticipated there would be some opposition as it's strange and new and there was some natural anxiety in the beginning. 'But once people realised that there is more commonality between us. 'I certainly hope, wish and pray that this will help relations between the two religions.

'When I spoke to the imam there was some hesitation on their part too, because this has never been done before. 'But they took us up on the offer and it has been a positive relationship.'

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Baling spirit lives on

Published by Malaysiakini on 3 June 2013.

Thirty-nine years ago, a little-known incident in Baling caused a seismic shift in Malaysian politics, but very few Malaysians are aware of the incident or realise its significance and the impact it created. If the full details of this incident had been divulged in 1974, the government might have fallen...

The Baling event referred to is not the historic meeting in 1955 of Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was the head of the Malayan government and Chin Peng, the leader of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).

Nor was it the Memali Incident of 1985, the shameful massacre of a defenceless community by forces loyal to Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s government.

The Baling Incident (BI) which occurred in 1974 was shrouded in secrecy. It was a series of many small expressions of the bottled-up feelings of anger, betrayal, fear and resentment, of the rural poor.

In present-day Malaysia, the rakyat participated in democracy marches and rallies against oppression, injustice and the dictatorial rule of Najib and the BN government. In 1974, it was Abdul Razak, Najib’s father, who faced similar marches against social injustices.

The root cause of the BI was abject poverty and starvation. The rubber smallholders faced ruin when the global price of rubber plummeted. The farmers could not cope with the rising cost of living and rural families had to forage for food in the jungles.

Bizarrely, in 1974 Abdul Razak announced in Parliament that the civil servants’ allowance would be increased by 50 percent, from RM1,000 to RM1,500.

When news broke of the deaths of a few children from eating ubi gadong, a type of poisonous wild yam, to stave off hunger pangs, the social unrest reached a tipping point. At its peak, around 25,000 of the rural poor took to the streets.

Like father, like son; both Abdul Razak and Najib unleashed the might of the FRU and the police on peaceful protesters. Najib is a politician without imagination, but he knew that brutal action had served his father well.

A dark chapter in our history

In 2013 Najib merely employed his father’s tried and tested methods of retaliation. The consequences of 1974 opened a dark chapter in our history.

Then, like now, information was heavily censored. Abdul Razak did not want the rakyat to know that an uprising had occurred in Kedah. Five years earlier, the country had been overwhelmed by the May 13 clashes. The Chinese were convenient scapegoats.

Abdul Razak was in a quandary. The district of Baling was mainly populated by Malays. The significance of the BI had to be suppressed.

In the BI there was no Chinese element, or communist subversives at work. BI was social unrest - a revolt by Malay smallholders and farmers. Peaceful hunger marches throughout Baling spread outwards from Baling town, Kulim and Sik.

News travelled fast and despite media censorship in 1974, students at Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Kolej Mara, as well as the universities’ teaching fraternity expressed their support for the uprising. They organised a series of meetings and urged the government to address the plight of the poor.

Syed Husin Ali, then an associate professor at Universiti Malaya, said: “At first they (the students) demonstrated within their campus. The police fired tear gas but some cannisters landed on the nearby squatter settlement, injuring some children.

“The students joined forces and gathered in the centre of KL. When the police acted against them, they took refuge in the National Mosque. Over 1,000 students were arrested and detained for a few days. Some squatters joined some students to ‘run riot’ at the highway, putting up blockades and smashing traffic lights.”

Abdul Razak warned of tough reprisals and over 40 students and lecturers were detained under the ISA. Among them was Anwar Ibrahim, who was detained for two years.

Syed Husin said: “I was detained for six years. I was an associate professor and considered recalcitrant for refusing to admit guilt. “I was accused of being pro-communist and the brain behind the demos. They wanted me to serve as an example to create fear among those academic staff to prevent them from following my path. I think these are the reasons why I was incarcerated up to six years.”

The education minister then was Mahathir. He and Ungku Aziz, the vice-chancellor of UM at the time, produced the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA).

The UUCA has effectively curbed students’ freedom and deprived universities of their autonomy. Students and lecturers are fearful of speaking out on issues which are deemed sensitive to BN. Our universities have never recovered from Mahathir’s despicable legacy.

Abdul Razak, his peers and successors’ children were sent abroad for their education, whilst the rest of the rakyat received a stifling Malaysian schooling.

Baling not an isolated incident

In 2013, history repeated itself and the nightmare which descended on Najib’s father is now his own. Today, Najib has warned that he would get tough with students Adam Adli Abdul Halim and Safwan Anang as well as other dissenters. The ISA has been repealed, so what has Najib up his sleeve?

Let this column warn both Najib and Mahathir, the joint rulers of Malaysia that their efforts to subjugate the rakyat will not succeed. Baling was not an isolated incident.

Prior to BI, there were unreported acts of unrest against the BN government. In Tasik Utara, Johor Baru, poor urban Malays camped in front the residence of then MB Osman Saat to voice their disgust at being cheated of housing and land.

In 1974 and in 2013, the Malays opposed the government, but Najib has created a red herring and claimed that in GE13, it was a Chinese tsunami. It is not! It is Malaysians fighting tyranny.

The wounds which Abdul Razak, Mahathir and Najib opened are still festering. Our awareness of their crimes and of their despotic rule are more acute.

Their policies have cast long shadows and there will be more Baling incidents until Najib and the illegitimate BN government step down.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

EAIC Is Unable To Cope, Form IPCMC Now!

By Boo Su-Lyn. Published by The Malaysian Insider on 4 June 2013.

The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) has acknowledged it is hamstrung by only having one investigating officer to probe complaints of misconduct against 19 enforcement agencies, as public outcry grows over deaths in police custody. It also has an annual budget of just RM7 million.

EAIC CEO Nor Afizah Hanum Mokhtar said the commission has 23 staff members, including the investigating officer, clerks, a driver, legal adviser, administrative officer and an operations director.

“We have very limited manpower,” Nor Afizah Hanum told The Malaysian Insider in an exclusive interview at her office here yesterday.

“We had six investigator posts that we got from MACC. They withdrew five on 16th May,” she added, referring to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Amid the outcry over recent deaths in police custody, there has been growing calls from the opposition and the Bar Council for the government to set up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

The Malaysian Bar, civil society groups and several politicians from both sides of the divide have called for the IPCMC to be implemented to reform the police force since 2006.

The IPCMC, which was mooted by a royal commission chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah but shot down by the police, was to be modelled on the United Kingdom’s Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), as well as other police oversight bodies in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, and Hong Kong.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insider yesterday Nor Afizah Hanum said the sole investigating officer remaining at the EAIC also came from the MACC and has 11 years’ experience as an investigator.

The MACC, in contrast, has a budget of RM276 million this year and will receive an additional 150 posts annually to boost its manpower from 2,500 staff to 5,000, English daily The Star reported last September.

The EAIC, which was set up in April 2011, investigates complaints of misconduct against the police force, the Immigration Department, the Customs Department, the Rela Corps, the National Anti-Drug Agency, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the Department of Environment, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, the National Registration Department (NRD), the Department of Civil Aviation, the Road Transport Department (RTD), the Department of Industrial Relations, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the Manpower Department, the Health Ministry (Enforcement), the Tourism Ministry (Enforcement and Licensing units), the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry (Enforcement) and the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (Enforcement).

Nor Afizah Hanum said the EAIC needed an annual budget of at least RM25 million, as well as at least 10 investigating officers and 10 research officers. “We hope to expand till 78 personnel... we have a requirement for research officers to work in a taskforce to study rules and procedures and do visits to lock-ups, prisons,” she said.

She added that the EAIC has received 469 complaints as of May 31 this year since it was formed in 2011, with 353 complaints against the police. Twenty-one complaints were lodged against the Immigration Department, 15 against the RTD, 10 against the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, and nine against the Customs Department.

She said the EAIC, however, has yet to receive complaints of deaths in custody, police shootings or assault by enforcement officers. “We haven’t received complaints of a criminal element,” said Nor Afizah Hanum.

She added that the complaints ranged from police inaction on cases, inaction of immigration authorities against illegal immigrants, a policeman having an affair with someone else’s wife, or the NRD revealing one’s personal particulars to another party without consent.

The former Sessions Court judge said investigations were opened for 124 out of 469 complaints, with one case resulting in a recommendation of disciplinary action against the police.

According to human rights group Suaram, 218 cases of alleged deaths in custody in Malaysia took place from 2000 to this month, with its records showing that nine of those cases occurred in 2012, while eight cases occurred so far this year...

The Home Ministry reportedly told Parliament last October that 298 people were shot dead by the police between 2007 and August 2012, including 151 Indonesians and 134 Malaysians, which is an average of one deadly shooting a week.

A United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 2010 visit to Malaysian prisons and detention centres reported in 2011 that between 2003 and 2007, “over 1,500 people died while being held by authorities.”

There is no need to establish the Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission (IPCMC), said Minister for Governance and Integrity Paul Low.

He said there is an existing channel called the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) that would perform the same duties as the IPCMC.

“There is no need to form the IPCMC, we already have a channel that allows the public to lodge complaints with regard to the enforcement agencies called the EAIC,” he said.

“There is lack of awareness. I believe that the only thing left to do is to educate the public on how one can lodge a complaint via the EAIC,” he added.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Deaths in Custody — We Don't Want To "De-motivate" The Police, Do We?

The statistics regarding deaths in police custody in Malaysia is a leaf out of the macabre: 156 persons died in police custody between 2000 and February 2011,¹ and it has been reported that there were at least six such deaths in 2012,² with this being the fifth one in 2013.³ This data is alarming, as it points to an average of at least one death in police custody per month since 2000.

The Malaysian Bar is dismayed and saddened by the news of yet another death in police custody, involving 32-year-old N Dharmendran. He was reportedly arrested on 11 May 2013, and died on 21 May 2013 whilst in police remand at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters.

The death of N Dharmendran is tragic and inexcusable. It is yet another incident that raises serious questions about the treatment and safety of detainees in police custody, and the methods of interrogation used. It underscores the importance of the requirement for those in police custody to have immediate access to legal counsel upon arrest.

In the case of N Dharmendran’s arrest, the protocol prescribed under the Yayasan Bantuan Guaman Kebangsaan (“YBGK”) scheme, which is an initiative made possible by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, and supported by the Government, does not appear to have been complied with by the police. The guidelines for enforcement officers stipulate that as soon as an arrest has been made, and before the suspect is questioned, the police officer must inform the suspect’s family (or friend) of the arrest, and must also provide details of the suspect and the arrest to YBGK, who will then despatch a lawyer to offer legal representation to the arrested person.

However, we understand that YBGK did not receive any notification from the police about N Dharmendran’s arrest. We regret to note that this is the second occasion that we are aware of where YBGK was not notified of an arrest, and the detainee later died in police custody. In the first incident, 32-year-old K Nagarajan had been found dead on 24 Dec 2012 in the Dang Wangi police station lockup.

The present state of affairs has led to much public outrage and an erosion of confidence in the police. The police must be proactive in ensuring that the wrongful actions of some amongst them do not tarnish the standing of the whole force. Unless this is addressed, the police force will unfortunately remain a diminished institution in the eyes of the public.

The unabated deaths in police custody reinforce the Malaysian Bar’s repeated calls for the Government to implement the recommendation of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police, in its report published in May 2005, for the setting up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (“IPCMC”) to function as an independent and external oversight body to investigate complaints about police personnel.

It is untenable for the Government to continue to ignore the dire need for the IPCMC, in the face of continuing cases of deaths in police custody.

There is no need to establish the Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission (IPCMC), said Minister for Governance and Integrity Paul Low. He said there is an existing channel called the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) that would perform the same duties as the IPCMC.

“There is no need to form the IPCMC, we already have a channel that allows the public to lodge complaints with regard to the enforcement agencies called the EAIC,” he said. “There is lack of awareness. I believe that the only thing left to do is to educate the public on how one can lodge a complaint via the EAIC,” he added.

Meanwhile, Low also said he had brought up N Dhamendran’s case at the Cabinet meeting held yesterday. Dhamendran, 32, died in police custody on May 21. The post-mortem reported concluded that he had died of blunt force trauma and the case has been classified as murder.

The police headquarters in Bukit Aman has since established the case as murder and had set up an independent task force to investigate the issue. “We as the government, need to act on this issue urgently. I brought it up at the Cabinet meeting yesterday and the outcome was positive,” Low told a press conference.

He said Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has agreed to cooperate and work with the relevant people. “The minister has also promised to urge the police to hasten their investigations in Dhamendran’s case,” he added. Also present at the press conference was Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) director D Ravindran, whom Dhamendran’s family accused of harassing them.

Ravindran explained that there were no conversations hinting towards a settlement nor asking the family to disengage their lawyers.

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has welcomed suggestions to suspend policemen who were involved in allegedly murdering a detainee but does not want the morale of the police force dampened.

“That’s true but we will have to re-look at regulations so that it doesn’t de-motivate the policemen. We will have to study the entire police interrogation procedure,” he said at a press conference held at the Prisons Department headquarters here this morning.

He said this in response to criticism by two Indian leaders against the police’s decision to suspend their personnel who was involved in the alleged murder of detainee N Dharmendran.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

#RCISabah: Foreigners commit 30% of serious crimes in Sabah

By Boo Su-Lyn. Published by Malaysian Insider on 23 May 2013.

Foreigners are responsible for 30 per cent of index crime in Sabah, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants heard today amid a perceived spike in criminal offences.

Sabah police chief Datuk Hamza Taib testified today that foreigners committed 15 per cent of index crimes against locals ― including violent crimes like murder, rape, robberies and theft ― and another 15 per cent against other foreigners.

“To me, it’s not that serious,” said Hamza when asked if 15 per cent was a serious figure.

Hamza also insisted that index crime has been dropping for the past three years, but did not provide figures to detail the reduction.

Foreigners have often been blamed for a perceived crime increase in the Borneo state that is struggling with an influx of immigrants.

More than a quarter of Sabah’s population are foreigners, totalling a staggering 889,000 out of the 3.2 million-strong population in the state.

News portal Free Malaysia Today reported last November that the death of a local teenage girl in Kota Marudu in November was rumoured to be linked to foreigners.

Sulu gunmen also invaded Lahad Datu in Sabah last February to stake a claim on the East Coast territory, resulting in the deaths of ten members of the Malaysian security forces.

“Understandably, Malaysians living in Sabah feel threatened and insecure as the number of foreigners keeps increasing. Incidents of drug-related crimes, burglaries and robberies are common,” former Sabah state secretary Tan Sri Simon Sipaun wrote in his June 18 article on Sabahkini last year.

“Gone are the days when we could leave our houses unlocked. Now they are like prisons. Things can only get worse if the demand for jobs is not met by employment opportunities,” he added.

Hamza also disputed today rumours that the Sulu gunmen from southern Philippines who had invaded Lahad Datu possessed Malaysian ICs.

“One hundred per cent they are illegals, but they’re being supported by locals,” said the Sabah police commissioner.

He added that he could not guarantee another foreign invasion would not happen in Sabah again, but stressed that the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (Esszone) was formed to strengthen the security of the east coast.

Hamza reportedly said last August that the overall crime rate in Sabah had dropped by 10 per cent, with street crimes dipping by 54 per cent.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said last Sunday that newly-appointed Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should quit “playing politics” and focus on reducing crime instead.

Putrajaya has sought to address concerns about crime by introducing crime reduction as a National Key Result Area (NKRA), which the police and the government’s efficiency unit Pemandu said has been successful in cutting crime. But the frequency of crime reports in the news and social media has raised doubts over the drop in the official crime figures.

Link:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/foreigners-commit-30pc-of-serious-crimes-in-sabah-rci-told/

Sedition dragnet reeks of double standard

Batu MP Chua Tian Chang, activist Haris Ibrahim and PAS’s Tamrin Ghafar were arrested for sedition today and brought to the Jinjang police station for questioning, according to reports. It is understood the trio were detained separately in an apparent police crackdown today. This is the third police investigation into sedition since the May 5 general election...

The first was student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim who was charged with sedition in the Jalan Duta court complex this morning. The 24-year-old pleaded not guilty and was released on a RM5,000 court bail with his trial set for a mention on July 2...

According to the charges read out this morning, his words had a seditious tendency and were aimed at rallying Malaysians to change the current government through undemocratic means.

His statement, in Malay: “Take my details, lodge a police report, because today, I would like to invite all those here today to gather and take to the streets to seize back our power! Can we do that? Can we do that? Can we do that? We do not have much time left, get ready, buy shoes, buy tracksuits, buy jeans, get ready to take to the streets because in a third world country like Malaysia, elections cannot topple a government. Only the people’s power can topple a government. Remember, ladies and gentlemen, this is the only opportunity we have.”

Charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris undergraduate faces a jail term of not less three years, or a fine of up to RM5,000 or both, if convicted. Adam Adli, who came to court in a black T-shirt, was represented by lawyers Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, N. Surendran, Afiq M. Noor and Shamsul Iskandar Mat Akin.

Speaking to FMT, S Vell Paari said he was concerned to learn about the arrests of Anything But Umno (ABU) leader Haris Ibrahim, PKR vice-president Tian Chua and PAS’ Thamrin Ghaffar. The trio were held this afternoon in connection with a forum on May 13, where a call was made to topple the Barisan Nasional government via street protests. Vell Paari said the arrests would anger the public further as the authorities would be perceived to be practicing double standard when it comes to enforcing the Sedition Act.

“While the likes of [Perkasa leaders] Ibrahim Ali and Zulkifli Noordin; and academic Ridhuan Tee Abdullah are allowed to roam free despite making incendiary remarks about race and religion, these opposition figures are however swiftly hauled up. “Even the Utusan Malaysia frontpage in the aftermath of the general election, which read ‘Apa Lagi Cina Mahu? [What more do the Chinese want], screamed sedition but our leaders chose to defend the publication,” added the MIC strategy director.

Vell Paari said this development did not bode well for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s administration. “As it is BN suffers from a severe perception crisis and these arrests would just aggravate the situation,” he warned. Vell Paari said while the police had the right to investigate those who called for street protests to topple the government, it should not resort to using draconian laws...

Talk is rife that the government’s hard stance stemmed from the appointment of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the new home minister, who is said to be reintroducing the facets of Mahathirism. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a BN source said that he would not be surprised if former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad was pulling the strings. “Najib was given his chance and he blew it. His electoral performance was worse than his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. “So perhaps Umno is now looking to its grand wizard to set the house in order,” he told FMT.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Jangan Mempolitikkan Pelaksanaan Undang-undang

PUTRAJAYA, 20 Mei (Bernama) — Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi mengingatkan pemimpin pembangkang supaya tidak mempolitikkan segala pelaksanaan dan tindakan pihak berkuasa dalam usaha memelihara keamanan dan kesejahteraan negara.

Pihak berkenaan boleh menghadapi risiko besar sekiranya terus berbuat demikian, katanya pada sidang media selepas memulakan tugas hari pertama sebagai menteri dalam negeri.

“(Penasihat DAP) Lim Kit Siang dan (Setiausaha Agung DAP) Lim Guan Eng harus membezakan antara objektif politik, langkah politik dengan pelaksanaan undang-undang. Jangan mempolitikkan segala pelaksanaan undang-undang yang dilaksanakan oleh IGP (ketua polis negara) atau lain-lain agensi yang berada di bawah KDN,” katanya.

Ahmad Zahid berkata ketua polis negara, ketua-ketua jabatan dan agensi di bawah KDN, diberi kuasa sepenuhnya bagi melaksanakan tugas dan tanggungjawab mereka mengikut bidang kuasa masing-masing, tanpa campur tangan politik.

Sebarang tindakan yang dilakukan di bawah KDN tidak boleh dianggap sebagai tindakan bermotifkan politik, tetapi berlandaskan kepada asas-asas perundangan yang sedia ada, katanya.

Beliau mengingatkan bahawa kerajaan tidak lagi memberi amaran, sebaliknya akan mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap mana-mana pihak yang bertindak di luar batasan menjejaskan ketenteraman awam negara.

“Kami tidak akan berkompromi untuk mengambil tindakan sebagaimana yang termaktub dalam undang-undang, akta dan enakmen yang sedia ada, katanya.

Menyentuh kenyataan pemimpin-pemimpin pembangkang berhubung beberapa perkara berkaitan kenyataan beliau baru-baru ini, soal perundangan, pilihan raya dan sebagainya, Ahmad Zahid berkata perkara itu boleh dipertikai di Parlimen.

“Sebagai orang politik, kita berjumpa di gelanggang politik, gelanggangnya bukan di jalanan, bukan di padang terbuka, tetapi di Dewan Rakyat. Jangan gunakan forum di tempat lain,” jelas beliau.

Ahmad Zahid turut membidas Ketua Umum PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang meminta beliau supaya tidak menjadikan negara ini seperti milik keluarganya

“Negeri ini pun bukan negeri bapa dia punya. Memang bukan (milik) bapa saya. Ini (pun) bukan negeri bapa dia,” katanya.

Anggota Parlimen Bagan Datoh itu dibidas kerana membuat kenyataan menggesa mereka yang tidak berpuas hati dengan keputusan pilihan raya di Malaysia supaya berhijrah ke negara di mana mereka boleh mempraktikkan kepercayaan politik mereka.

Ahmad Zahid juga berkata bagi memastikan pelaksanaan KDN berjalan lancar, cadangan, pandangan dan kerjasama padu daripada semua pihak dialu-alukan, selain kritikan dan teguran.

“Kami perlukan sokongan dan dukungan daripada masyarakat keseluruhannya, ini termasuk pemimpin-pemimpin politik, sama ada dalam kerajaan mahupun di luar kerajaan, NGO, individu dan institusi.

“Bukan sekadar memberikan maklum balas, aduan atau rungutan tetapi memberikan cadangan dan kerjasama kepada apa yang sedia ada dalam perundangan,, peruntukan yang digaris pandukan. Ia bukan untuk kepentingan politik kami,” katanya...

Asal berita :

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/newsindex.php?id=950863