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The Red Bean Army witch-hunt

Jeswan Kaur | July 14, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

If BN thinks it can mislead the rakyat by tricking them into believing the Red Bean Army is the real threat back home, it is mistaken.

COMMENT

The federal government seems to be in a disarray, going by its classic sense of missing the woods for the trees.

Instead of tackling the hard-pressed issues beleaguring the rakyat, the Barisan Nasional government has decided it has a bigger battle to fight – that too against an entity called the Red Bean Army, whom BN claims is opposition DAP funded and supported.

So much so that BN is accusing DAP of spending RM100 million since 2008 to fund the Red Bean Army – a claim that remains unsubstantiated and has been refuted several times by DAP’s national advisor, Lim Kit Siang.

Still, BN refuses to pay any heed to the fact that DAP has no hand in sponsoring anything called the ‘Red Bean Army’ (RBA).

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has gone on to say that the government will come down hard on the RBA, including using the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998; the Penal Code; and Facebook to counter it and others who use the Internet to defame the police force. Continue reading “The Red Bean Army witch-hunt”

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Say no to police state

P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
Jul 12, 2013

QUESTION TIME Who decides policy in this country? Is it the police? Are we as a nation supposed to be subservient to the police and ask their permission first before we implement anything? Are they, a government department, allowed to lobby actively for what they want and even against things that Parliament has passed?

The way the police have launched a campaign for the return of the notorious Emergency Ordinance (EO), one would think that their crime-fighting abilities have been crippled as a result of the repeal of that oppressive piece of legislation. That’s far from the truth.

The Emergency Ordinance and the infamous Internal Security Act, were repealed in 2011 and replaced with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 and changes to other laws. Together with this, the state of emergency that prevailed in this country since independence under three different proclamations was lifted.

A cursory look at the Emergency Ordinance of 1969 and some of its orders made in the aftermath of the May 13, 1969 racial riots gave considerable power to the police and government of the day to override any and all provisions with regard to personal rights. It was terribly draconian – a police state in other words where anyone could be arrested and detained. Continue reading “Say no to police state”

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Is Zahid now confirming that the Prime Minister, Police and previous Home Minister had been wrong and the public right in past four years about worsening crime situation and the fear of crime?

Beginning this month, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and the police have taken a new tack on the crime situation in the country, as illustrated by his speech on Sunday proposing a restoration of a special preventive law to replace the abolished Emergency Ordinance (EO), viz:

“We were pressured to abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA) and EO. Look at what happened after that, the crime rate increased and organised and petty criminals came out of the woodwork.”

Although this new official tack on increasing crime in the country is in tandem with the public perception about the runaway crime situation in the country in the past four years, it is in direct conflict with the four-year stand by the Prime Minister, the police and the former Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, that the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) against crime had been a great success since it was launched in 2009 resulting in drastic fall in the crime rate.

Just before Parliament was dissolved for the 13th general election, Malaysians were told that the country’s crime index had decreased by 26.8% since the first phase of the GTP began in 2009 and that Malaysia had been ranked the safest and most peaceful country in South-east Asia according to the Global Peace Index.

Malaysians were told that the country recorded around 550.1 criminal incidents per 100,000 population, placing Malaysia lower than Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain and the United States.

What then is Malaysia’s problem? The official answer is: “The crime rate is down but Malaysians still do not feel so, hence the focus of the second phase of the GTP against crime will be on improving public confidence on safety” – which was why RM272.5 million was allocated in the 2013 Budget to ensure that the rakyat feel safe! Continue reading “Is Zahid now confirming that the Prime Minister, Police and previous Home Minister had been wrong and the public right in past four years about worsening crime situation and the fear of crime?”

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Panacea to reduce crime?

— Lim Sue Goan
The Malay Mail Online
July 08, 2013

JULY 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made a legal reform pledge on the eve of the Malaysia Day in 2011, which was indeed a sign of democratic progress. However, the legal reforms have been questioned. Would the government backtrack?

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi refuses to support the abolition of the 1969 Sedition Act. At the same time, Home Ministry and the police blame the abolition of the Emergency Ordinance (EO) for causing the deterioration of public security and thus, the government is developing a special preventive law similar to the EO.

It was a right move for Najib to announce the abolition and amendments for some draconian laws, as these undemocratic laws had violated human rights and fundamental freedom. They were also accused to have been used against dissidents.

For example, student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim; Tamrin Ghafar, son of late former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Ghafar Baba; Anything But Umno (ABU) leader Haris Ibrahim and three others were charged with sedition in May. Also, six Socialist Party leaders were detained under the EO.

In fact, as early as in 2005, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Report had proposed the abolition of the EO as the Act was “outdated and might become a tool to infringe fundamental freedom”. The EO allowed for 60 days’ detention without warrant or trial, depriving detainee’s right to seek legal defence. Therefore, the announcement to abolish the Sedition Act and the EC was in line with public opinion. The authorities should not resurrect the laws, regardless of whatever excuses. Continue reading “Panacea to reduce crime?”

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IGP and Home Minister cannot blow hot and cold but must be consistent whether Malaysia is safe country or not

The Inspector-General of Police and the Home Minister cannot blow hot and cold but must be consistent whether Malaysia is a safe country or not.

The IGP and the Home Minister cannot on the one hand claim that Malaysia is a safe country with crime rate decreasing by 26.8% since the launch of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) in 2009, and ranked the safest and most peaceful country in South-East Asia according to the Global Peace Index, but suddenly attribute the recent spike of violent crimes to the abolition of the Emergency Ordinance (EO) in 2011 which put nearly 2,000 suspected hardened criminals back on the streets.

If the release of the 2,000 suspected hardened criminals under EO in September 2011 was responsible for the spike in crimes, why is this not shown in the crime statistics of the police, which instead claimed that there had been a reduction of overall street crime and index crime by 41.3% and 7.6% respectively in 2012 as compared to 2011?

Or did the leaders of the violent and organised crime syndicates only suddenly become active after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s declaration of “war against crime” a month after the 13th general elections – causing a worsening of crime and the fear of crime when for the first time Malaysians feel unsafe eating out with the public spate of armed robberies of owners and customers at mamak stalls and restaurants? Continue reading “IGP and Home Minister cannot blow hot and cold but must be consistent whether Malaysia is safe country or not”

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If I were the police chief…

Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi
Malaysiakini
Jul 2, 2013

COMMENT Perhaps now that a minister’s house and the house of several ministers’ relatives have been broken into, the leaders should now know how ineffective our police force has become in relation to crime and public welfare.

I would not like to mince words but speak directly on what the police should do … if they are interested in public welfare at all. Even if they are not, they, police personnel are also subject to these crimes when they live outside quarters – such as those where I myself grew up.

So, if I were the chief of police, these are the things I would do.

Firstly, I would recognise that the first line of defence against crime is not to increase the number of police personnel, CCTVs or gated communities, or to deport all migrant workers.

The most tried of defences is the knowledge of crime patterns. If the people know how many crimes were committed and these are analysed, then it is extremely easy to protect against such incidents. I will elaborate in due course.

Secondly, I would tell my personnel to get ‘down and dirty’ with the communities they serve. They should not just drive or ride around and then stop for roti canai or nasi lemak, but should interact more with the communities they are supposed to serve. How? Well …patience dear readers and read on. Continue reading “If I were the police chief…”

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Will Najib act against Home Minister and IGP? Malaysia hit by a second national haze emergency of accountability, integrity and good governance revolving around two top security officials, IGP and Home Minister

Even before the haze from the Riau and Sumatra peat fires, which have caused state of emergency to be declared and thousands of schools to be closed in various states, have been fully resolved, Malaysia has been hit by a new haze emergency – the haze of accountability, integrity and good governance revolving around two top security officials, the Inspector-General of Police and the Home Minister.

Who would have thought that in matter of 48 hours, it was possible to reduce to smithereens the credibility and authority of the country’s two topmost security officials, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

On Wednesday, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge, Justice Datuk V.T. Singham (who turned 65 today and went on optional retirement a year before his term is up), found Khalid who was Selangor police chief at the time responsible in the death of suspected car thief A Kugan during police custody from grievous injuries at the Taipan police station on Jan 20, 2009.

In a landmark ruling which saw the family of Kugan winning RM801,700 in damages, Justice Singham found the police and the Government liable for Kugan’s death and said Khalid was liable for misfeasance of public office.
Continue reading “Will Najib act against Home Minister and IGP? Malaysia hit by a second national haze emergency of accountability, integrity and good governance revolving around two top security officials, IGP and Home Minister”

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Husam’s two-day remand must be condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians as it constitutes a gross abuse of power

The two-day remand of PAS Vice President Husam Musa by the police on grounds of investigations under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 must be condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians as its constitutes a gross abuse of power and proof that nothing has changed as far as “transformation” to restore the independence, impartiality and professionalism of national institutions is concerned.

Malaysians are asking why the police have not even questioned, let alone remanded, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who had been guilty of making a series of seditious statements before, during and after the 13th General Elections, utterly reckless of the damage he was doing to inter-racial harmony with his racist lies and falsehoods.

Similarly, Malaysians also want to know why the former Court of Appeal judge, Mohd Noor Abdullah had not been questioned, let alone remanded in a police lock-up, for making the most racist and seditious speech in the country in the past four decades when he warned that the Chinese Malaysians must be prepared for a backlash from the Malay community for their “betrayal” in the recently concluded 13th general election.

With Husam’s two-day remand, Malaysians are being told that the days of selective prosecution, discriminatory treatment and abuses of power by those in authority continues to be the order of the day. Continue reading “Husam’s two-day remand must be condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians as it constitutes a gross abuse of power”

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The issue has never been whether a Chinese can be PM but whether the country has a PM for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or socio-economic status

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Shahidan Kassim thought he was doing the Chinese in Malaysia a great favour and service when he gratuitously advised them to break away from the “extreme racism” indoctrinated by the DAP, so that “Malaysia would one day have a Prime Minister of Chinese ethnicity”.

Shahidan could not be more wrong, as he committed two fatal errors, firstly in falsely alleging that DAP had “inculcated” the Chinese in Malaysia with “extreme racism” and secondly, the issue whether a Chinese could become a Prime Minister in Malaysia was never on the political radar of any Malaysian Chinese.

For the edification of Shahidan Kassim, the issue has never been whether a Chinese can be Prime Minister but whether the country has a Prime Minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or socio-economic status.

Furthermore, DAP had never indoctrinated or inculcated the Chinese in Malaysia with any “extreme racism” as right from our formation 46 years ago in 1966, our message to all Malaysians is to forge a Malaysian identity and consciousness, transcending racial, ethnic, cultural and regional differences – and this is why in the 46-year history of DAP, we have never called for any Chinese unity, Malay unity, Indian unity, Kadazan unity or Dayak unity, but the unity of all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region in pursuit of a common Malaysian Dream, never a Chinese Dream, Malay Dream, Indian Dream, Kadazan Dream or Dayak Dream. Continue reading “The issue has never been whether a Chinese can be PM but whether the country has a PM for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or socio-economic status”

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Najib’s denial syndrome claiming that he only lost in the “war of perception” in 13GE will condemn his “national reconciliation” plan to failure and a recipe for the resounding defeat of UMNO/BN in the 14GE

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s denial syndrome in his luncheon talk to Malaysian students in Indonesia at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta yesterday that the Barisan Nasional had won the GE13 but it lost in the “war of perception” will condemn his “national reconciliation” plan to failure and a recipe for the resounding defeat of UMNO/BN in the 14GE.

Najib said Barisan had carried out many transformations in terms of delivery over the last four years and had validly won the GE 13, but it lost in the war of perception because of the slander and lies churned out by the Opposition through the alternative media, which many people believed in more than the truth provided by the mainstream media.

Najib said: “For the next general election, Barisan must equip itself well to fight the war of perception”.

Is Najib promising more Umno/BN lies and falsehoods on the cyberspace in the next five years, despite the abject failure of the 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers trained in a series of nation-wide 1Malaysia Social Media Conventions involving hundreds of millions of ringgit of public funds in the run up to the 13GE?

I am no apologist for the alternative media, but is Najib prepared to establish an independent commission of inquiry to ascertain why the mainstream media have lost all credibility and authority ceding the ground to the alternative media?
Continue reading “Najib’s denial syndrome claiming that he only lost in the “war of perception” in 13GE will condemn his “national reconciliation” plan to failure and a recipe for the resounding defeat of UMNO/BN in the 14GE”

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Call on Najib to put his War on Crime as top Cabinet agenda on Wednesday to ensure the police are not totally helpless in the latest rampage by criminals, including new-fangled mass armed robbery of owners/customers of restaurants and eateries

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak declared a “War against Crime” when he launched Pemandu’s United Against Crime Day at the KLCC Park in Kuala Lumpur the previous Saturday on 8th June, but it has turned into a nightmarish week for Malaysians with criminals going on a rampage including the new-fangled mass armed robbery of owners and customers of restaurants and eateries.

The headlines given by the BN-owned/controlled media, like “Criminals beware: Its War” and “All-out fight against crime” (Sunday Star 9.6.2013) turned into ashes when it was the criminals who declared war last weekend starting with a group of about 10 parang-wielding men in crash helmets who held up the owner and several customers who were having early-morning supper at Simmei Seafood and Steamboat restaurant at Taman Taynton View in Cheras and got away with RM20,000 in cash and valuables.

This new criminal phenomenon has been repeated in the past week with similar crimes of mass armed gang robberies of customers and owners at open restaurants and eateries in Kepong, Cheras, Kajang and Petaling Jaya, transmitting a new fear of crime throughout the country that it is not safe in Malaysia to be eating out at restaurants and eateries!

The following comment last night on my blog in response to my statement “Police should not be super-efficient to arrest peaceful Malaysians, including women and child while utterly helpless at worsening crime situation with new fear among Malaysians – not safe eating out in restaurants and public eateries” reflected both the severity and gravity of this scourge: Continue reading “Call on Najib to put his War on Crime as top Cabinet agenda on Wednesday to ensure the police are not totally helpless in the latest rampage by criminals, including new-fangled mass armed robbery of owners/customers of restaurants and eateries”

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Police should not be super-efficient to arrest peaceful Malaysians, including women and child while utterly helpless at worsening crime situation with new fear among Malaysians – not safe eating out in restaurants and public eateries

The police arrest of 16 participants of the peaceful Black 505 flashmob at the Sogo shopping centre vicinity in Kuala Lumpur, including women and one child, has raised many questions about the role of the police in ensuring public peace and order as well as upholding human rights which are not complimentary to the police force.

The first question is whether it is not possible for the police to ensure public peace and order as well as uphold human rights without having to arrest the 16 people, including women and a child – bearing in mind Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s boast of wanting to make Malaysia the world’s best democracy?

The second question is whether the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is now cracking the whip in the Barisan Nasional government as it is only yesterday that he urged the government to be “tough and not to give face” to the Opposition which he alleged to “continue to insult the nation’s democratic system”?

Last Saturday, Najib launched a highly-publicised war against crime, and the most powerful critique is not that it came four years too late, resulting in crime becoming the number one worry among Malaysians, exceeding their concern about bread-and-butter issues, but that it marked a new fear of crime among Malaysians.

This is the mass armed gang robbery of shop owners and customers at restaurants and eateries, starting with an open air steamboat restaurant in Cheras by a group of 10 persons armed with parangs and iron rods who robbed more than RM20,000 from the owner and patrons, which has been followed up by a spate of similar crimes of mass armed gang robberies at open restaurants in Kepong, Cheras, Kajang and Petaling Jaya in the past few nights.

Crime in Malaysia seems to have reached a level where criminals are not afraid of the police anymore. Continue reading “Police should not be super-efficient to arrest peaceful Malaysians, including women and child while utterly helpless at worsening crime situation with new fear among Malaysians – not safe eating out in restaurants and public eateries”

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MACC should explain why no disciplinary action taken against Mohd Nadzri when Teoh Beng Hock RCI Report made adverse comments about Nadzri’s role in Beng Hock’s mysterious death

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has urged the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) to remove Mohd Nadzri Ibrahim, its sole investigator, from investigating death-in-custody cases.

This is MACC’s response to the query by two DAP MPs, Zairil Khir Johari (Bukit Bendera) and Steven Sim Chee Keong (Bukit Mertajam) whether EAIC’s integrity would be in doubt if Mohd Nadzri was the MACC officer who was part of the MACC probe causing the mysterious death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock at Selangor MACC headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009.

A MACC statement issued late last night said:

“SPRM does not want any SPRM officers linked to any controversies, whether it involves SPRM itself or the EAIC.

“In this matter, SPRM wishes to stress that Mohd Nadzri Ibrahim, an SPRM officer who was seconded to the EAIC since more than a year ago, is an officer who has always conducted his duties professionally.

“Like SPRM, SPRM is confident that the EAIC, which is an independent commission, would also want to ensure justice for all parties involved in the issue of deaths in custody.”

This is meaningless bureaucratic gobbledygook designed to confuse rather than to illuminate the public, just because the government agency concerned has got embarrassing things to hide from the people.
Continue reading “MACC should explain why no disciplinary action taken against Mohd Nadzri when Teoh Beng Hock RCI Report made adverse comments about Nadzri’s role in Beng Hock’s mysterious death”

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Zahid should take leave as Home Minister until two cases causing major embarrassment to the BN government had been settled

Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should go on leave as Home Minister until two cases causing major embarrassment to the Barisan Nasional government had been settled.

Firstly, the case where Zahid was accused of causing hurt to Amir Abdullah Bazli in January 2006.

I agree with the former Kuala Lumpur CID director Mat Zain Ismail who said in a recent Open Letter that the fact that the Appeal Court had in a civil action unanimously ordered Zahid to answer the charges by Amir Abdullah means that Amir’s accusation is solid, raising the question why the police had failed to take action against Zahid for his offence of hurting Amir.

Mat Zain had rightly said in his Open Letter:

“PDRM will not be able to convince the people that it is acting fairly and adhering to the law if it fails to haul Zahid to court, especially when its former chief (former IGP Tan Sri Rahim Noor) was charged for the same offence.

“In fact, PDRM will lose moral ground as it cannot justify taking action against any lawbreaker, if it cannot even take action against its own Minister who has been judged a criminal by the courts.”

Continue reading “Zahid should take leave as Home Minister until two cases causing major embarrassment to the BN government had been settled”

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What Malaysians want is not an empty “declaration of war against crime”, the most “political” IGP and most “political” Home Minister, but a new and serious culture of “zero tolerance to crime” at all levels of government

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak declared a war on crime three days ago, late by four years and a resounding vindication of the verdict of the 13GE on May 5 expressing grave voter dissatisfaction and displeasure at the failure of the four-year Najib premiership to deal with the problem of crime and the fear of crime.

It is no use the Barisan Nasional and police leadership claiming that the crime rate has been coming down under the Government Transformation Programme when over the past four years the spectre of the fear of crime have been hounding and haunting Malaysians.

There is no public confidence in the police statistics about crime reduction so long as Malaysians avoid lodging police reports even though they are victims of crime because of the hassle as well as the futility of lodging police reports.

As a result, contrary of police statistics, Malaysians are convinced that the crime rate and the fear of crime have been increasing by leaps and bounds in the past few years.

Najib’s declaration of war against crime suffered bodily blows by recent blatant and flagrant incidence of crime. Continue reading “What Malaysians want is not an empty “declaration of war against crime”, the most “political” IGP and most “political” Home Minister, but a new and serious culture of “zero tolerance to crime” at all levels of government”

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Perceptions and cybertroopers

— conspiracytheor1st
The Malaysian Insider
June 09, 2013

JUNE 9 — “Cybertroopers” is a term I suppose originated from Malaysia. I would rank it as the next best Malaysian invention after err… belacan (did belacan originate from Malaysia?). A short search of “cybertroopers” on Google would yield hundreds of results, all related to Malaysian politics. However, there is no one exact definition of the term from any dictionary or on Wikipedia. Back to the main topic, one might not notice that there is a very inconspicuous but interesting relationship between the term “cybertroopers” and “perception” in Malaysia, both of which have been aggressively propagated by the mainstream media of late.

In Malaysia, everything is due to the problem of perception. The crime rate of the country is low. If you think it is high, then it is the problem of your perception. The police are doing great — so well in fact that our ex-IGP’s KPI score in 2009 was 113.8 per cent, as announced by Koh Tsu Koon in Parliament. A lot of us were wondering how it was possible statistically. Did that mean that the police had solved more cases involving crime than actually existed? Or that they had caught more people compared to the number of times when the law was actually violated like cases of candle vigils (ahem…)? Then again, if you still are scratching your head over how the numbers add up, then it has to be the problem of your perception.

Here, we have the powers-that-be telling us that Malaysia is one of the best governed countries in the world with the best education system that even exceeds the high standards of the US and Germany; the best democratic system; and the cleanest electoral system! The government claimed that corruption in the country is a mere perception and the MACC claimed that their tarnished reputation of being inefficient and inaction against the big shots was also perception. Now, even the EC has jumped onto the perception bandwagon in the midst of the post-election furore. If you still don’t agree with them, heck, you know what again? It is your bloody perception! Continue reading “Perceptions and cybertroopers”

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Who is Zahid? Do we have a criminal as a new Home Minister?

I thank Malaysians who have expressed their outrage at the arrogance and cockiness of the new Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was shown on television on Tuesday questioning: “Who is Lim Kit Siang? I don’t know who he is.”

What is important is not “Who is Lim Kit Siang” but “Who is Ahmad Zahid Hamidi” who has become the new Home Minister.

This has become particularly important following the call by the Chairman of the DAP Legal Bureau and MP for Puchong, Gobind Singh Deo, to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to suspend Zahid from the Cabinet to prove the Prime Minister is serious about government reform.

Gobind has told the Prime Minister that it is “improper” to put a man who has been ordered to answer a civil suit for assault to be in charge of the powerful home ministry where his actions and conduct could invite conflict, which would reflect on his Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Continue reading “Who is Zahid? Do we have a criminal as a new Home Minister?”

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Do we really need the IPCMC?

― Nicholas Chan
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 05, 2013

JUNE 5 ― The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) recently rose to infamy due to the occurrence of a slew of death in custody cases in Malaysia, once again rallying public outcry for the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). Minister in charge of Integrity and Corruption Paul Low was quick to tout the EAIC as if it were the IPCMC we never had, reportedly saying we don’t need another independent police oversight body because the EAIC is actually the IPCMC.

This is a gross mistruth as the powers of the EAIC and the IPCMC as mooted by the Royal Commission chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah are different. The truth is, the EAIC is more of a watered down version of the IPCMC, a “reform” legacy that is kindly attributed to the retired Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, although by the time the legislation that enables the Commission to be form is gazetted, he had already stepped down.

No doubt both Commissions are mooted for the same vision of curbing police misconduct and upholding their accountability towards the public, Dzaiddin’s version of it speaks more drastically of the need to keep our police force in check as the Royal Commission report had described the force as “brutal, inept and the most corrupt among the government departments”. Continue reading “Do we really need the IPCMC?”

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Will the Cabinet today decide or dilly-dally on IPCMC?

All eyes are on the Cabinet this morning – will the Cabinet decide or dilly-dally on the issue of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC)?

The issue of IPCMC was first proposed by the Dzaiddin Royal Royal Police Commission eight years ago in 2005 as the most important of its 125 recommendations to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional and world-class police force, with even the Prime Minister at the time, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi publicly pledging to implement the IPCMC recommendation.

It was the then UMNO Youth leader, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein, who later became Home Minister, who led the opposition to the establishment of the IPCMC, teaming up with the then police leadership to force Abdullah to backtrack and finally scuttle the IPCMC proposal. Instead an ineffective Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) was substituted.

Did the new Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, who was a Deputy Minister in the first Abdullah administration 2004-2008, support or oppose the IPCMC at the time.

The IPCMC was one effective proposal to address the high rate of deaths in police custody, with 80 cases from January 2000 to December 2004, or an annual average of 16 deaths in police custody in those five years – which was regarded as unacceptably high.

Unfortunately, the scandal of deaths in police custody have worsened after the Dzaiddin Report. The rate of deaths in police custody has increased albeit slightly in the eight and a half years since the IPCMC Report – with 141 deaths from January 2005 to May 2013 (with three deaths in just 11 days in the first month after the 13th general elections on May 5) or a higher annual average of 16.6 deaths since the Dzaiddin RCI report. Continue reading “Will the Cabinet today decide or dilly-dally on IPCMC?”

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Are the police exempt from the law?

P Ramakrishnan
Aliran
4 June 2013

Hardcore criminals are treated harshly as they should be according to the law. The full force of the law lands on them mercilessly. This is not only to punish them as they deserve to be but also to serve as a deterrent to would be criminals.

But why then does the same law fail to act against hardcore police criminals who cause death in custody? Why doesn’t the law land on them as determinedly as it does when it concerns citizens?

This selective action definitely demoralises the public and causes loss of confidence in the police. Malaysians ask with justification whether the police are a law unto themselves? Why does the long arm of the law fail to haul them up and punish them without any reservation when they are guilty of heinous crimes?

The mounting deaths under troubling circumstances are a source of worry to all law-respecting Malaysians, who are devastated that Indian Malaysian detainees, according to their perception, are dying like flies in the lockups. This perception is not without justification when facts are viewed objectively. Within 11 days three Indians have died in police custody under circumstances requiring no less than a Royal Commission of Inquiry to get to the bottom of these worrying deaths. Continue reading “Are the police exempt from the law?”