By Steven Sim, MP for Bukit Mertajam
Death in custody: 9 victims in less than four months in 2014!
The counter is rising for cases of death in custody in Malaysia – now averaging more than two deaths a month!
This time, a 56 year old drug addict who was arrested on 22 April and detained at the Bayan Baru lockup was pronounced dead when he was on the way to the Penang Hospital to seek treatment.
This is the second death in custody taking place in the Bayan Baru lockup, which is a newly built centralised lockup facility and the sixth case which happened directly or indirectly under the custody of the Penang police.
Centralised lock-up failed
The Home Minister’s RM25 million centralised lock-up is now proven to be yet another failed project with two cases of death in custody taking place in the Bayan Baru centralised lock-up itself within two months of this year.
When will the coroners court convene?
We are still waiting for the government to convene the coroners court on these nine (9) cases of sudden death. But the question remains, will the coroners court proved to be another toothless tiger, spewing out “open verdicts” like in the case of the inquest of Saudara Teoh Beng Hock?
Law enforcement in a confused state
Law enforcement in this country is now confused: We have a system which is obsessed about making laws which deal with political dissent and such system is paralysed when it comes to deal with actual criminals. Hence, criminals and crime suspect are dealt with using brute force and outdated or even anti-human rights practices.
Who will then watch over the watchmen? Who will police our police when they crossed the boundaries of the law? Many good cops are now disappointed and tired with the current situation where abuse of power is rampant. Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Musa Hassan himself exposed how Ministers intervened in police operation.
Refusal to setup IPCMC – contempt to the King
The government’s continual refusal to established the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is not only showing contempt against the Yang DiPertuan Agong whose royal commission headed by ex-Chief Justice Tun Mohammed Dzaiddin had proposed the said body in 2005; it also raised questions on whether the government is deliberately keeping PDRM as a politicised force to further the ruling party’s political interest.
Request Penang state government to intervene with its limited power
Although PDRM is not under the purview of the state government, I request the state government, with its limited power, to intervene through the State Security Council where the state Chief Police Officer (CPO) is a member, since more than half the cases of death in custody this year is directly or indirectly related to PDRM Penang. We must demand accountability, and a thorough public report from PDRM on this matter including what are the steps taken to mitigate this problem.
I have previously written to PDRM to request a visit to the centralised lock-up in Bayan Baru together with the relevant NGOs to understand the new facilities but was denied permission to do so. I hope PDRM will allow civil society and human rights groups to conduct visits to the centralised lockup facilities and other lockup facilities to see for ourselves measures taken by PDRM to prevent death in custody.
A nation judged by how we treat our lowest citizens
President Barack Obama when meeting Prime Minister Najib Razak recently said that “he shared with Mr. Najib his ‘core belief’ that societies that respect civil rights will be more successful in the 21st century”.
The great Nelson Mandela once said, “No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones”.
What is happening here in Malaysia is our lowest citizens, yes some of them are crime suspects and criminals, are treated with the laws of the jungle. By Mandela’s standard, we have failed.
