By Jeswan Kaur
Was Najib making an open confession that with the
ISA around, there was little hope for democracy to survive?
Serving the country and its people
has become a “power” thing, one which politicians will do anything to retain.
And Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is no different.
When he
blundered in handling the police brutality that was unleashed during the July
9, 2011 rally by election watchdog Bersih 2.0, Najib decided to spring a
surprise, one which would be least expected by everyone – by repealing the
inhumane Internal Security Act (ISA) 1960.
News of the
ISA abolishment was made by Najib on the eve of Sept 16 while commemorating
Malaysia Day. Since then, he has not failed to use this so-called good news to
convince the people that if there is one party which can take Malaysia to
greater heights, it is Barisan Nasional (BN) – the amalgamation of Umno, MIC
and MCA.
Tongues
loyal to BN have not stopped wagging as to just how “sensitive” and “caring” a
leader Najib is, as seen from the move to put an end to the ISA.
While the
ISA should have long been buried, what now worries the people is what “reforms”
does Najib truly have in mind.
For one,
Najib has shown no interest in establishing the Independent Police Complaints
and Misconduct Commission or IPCMC, which is the only hope to “revive” the
much-maligned police force.
Time and
time again, cases of abuse of power by the police have been reported. And
still, Najib seems unfazed by it all.
Instead,
Najib says the repeal of the ISA will see Malaysia emerging as one of the best
democratic nations to be reckoned with. Is there any truth to this claim?
Hardly.
Democracy no where in sight
Is Najib
making an open confession that with the ISA around, there was little hope for
democracy to survive? But just why would that be so if not because of the
corruption plaguing the federal government?
Irrespective
of whether the ISA stays or goes, what is more crucial is the shift in
mentality on Najib’s part in treating the rakyat with respect. Should he care,
then the premier would take all steps to ensure the people’s basic rights are
not violated by the authorities, especially the police.
Death in
police custody is no longer a shocking revelation to people of this country.
But this gives no locus standi to the authorities to treat the bad as badly as
they want.
But it is
still happening, where the lay person gets abused in more ways than one by the
police. The abuse of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) detainees is yet another
example of how democracy seems dead in Malaysia.
Thirty-one
PSM members, including 14 women aged between 16 and 64, were travelling in a
bus from Sungai Petani towards Penang when they were arrested at the Sungai Dua
toll plaza on the North-South Expressway about 3.30pm on June 25. They were
later remanded until July 3 for police to facilitate investigations.
The abuses
ranged from denying special food to detainees with medical conditions to
compelling the Hindus to eat beef, the latter which goes against their
religious beliefs. The detainees were also deprived of water.
As for the
women detainees, they were sexually and verbally harassed by the cops. The
women detainees were forced to undergo physical forms of sexual harassment,
which included having their clothes pulled open to expose parts of their body,
being made to remove undergarments and change into lock-up clothes in the
presence of male police officers and being inappropriately fondled by a woman
police officer.
The women
detainees were further tortured via innuendos and inappropriate comments during
their questioning, as in the following remarks below:
“Awak tidak
ada nafsu terhadap mana-mana lelaki? Awak telah adakan seks dengan siapa-siapa
kah? Buat seks boleh dapat anak mengapa nak kahwin? You boleh tahan ke tak ada
seks dengan suami? Sudah seminggu tiada seks, nanti balik ada seks dengan
lelaki nanti beritahu saya apa perasaan kamu semasa buat seks? Pasal kamu lah
saya tak boleh [expletive deleted] dengan suami saya, hari-hari saya berada di
sini.”
(Are you
attracted to any of the men? Have you had sex with anyone? If you can have
children after having sex, why get married? Can you stand not being able to have
sex with your husbands? It’s been a week without sex, when you go home and have
sex, let me know how it feels when you are doing it. Because of you I cannot go
home to have sex with my husband, every day I have to stay here (to watch over
you).
Complaints
of police misconduct and maltreatment were made by three of the women detainees
to Suhakam and the Bukit Aman police.
And dare
Najib claim Malaysia is on its way towards becoming a respected democratic
nation?
Najib’s idea of democracy flawed
Najib is extremely
desperate to return to his plush office in Putrajaya and is counting on the
coming general election to make this happen. In the process, little does Najib
care that his acts of desperation are all at the expense of the rakyat.
Claiming to
champion the people’s rights by reforming the laws and wasting taxpayers’ money
on endless projects is not going to do the trick.
The people
have not forgotten how uncaring a leader Najib is when he did little to assist
in the death of a DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock. On July 16, 2009, Teoh was found
dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam which also houses the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office on the 14th floor.
Teoh was
summoned to MACC’s office for a nine-hour interrogation concerning allegations
of corruption and was found dead the next morning. Despite his family claiming
otherwise and even renowned Thai pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand stating an
80 percent probability that Teoh’s death was caused by suicide, the “powers
that be” classified it as “sudden death”.
That very
“powers that be” through the Royal Commission of Inquiry set up to investigat
MACC’s interrogation procedures later concluded that Teoh had committed
suicide, as he was unable to deal with the aggressive interrogation tactics by
MACC officers.
As far as
Najib goes, is this how a democratic country serves justice to its people?
Clearly, Najib’s idea of democracy is flawed and needs much working on.
‘Facelift’
not assurance of victory
To bring to
end the 51-year reign of the ISA is not going to assure BN victory in the
coming 13th general election. To indulge in a “facelift” by shoving the ISA out
and replacing it with two other laws is not going to convince the rakyat.
The day the
BN government establishes the IPCMC will determine its true commitment towards
serving the rakyat. To put an end to the abuse of power, be it at the
executive, legislative or judiciary level, will serve as a hint of just how
much the BN government cares for its people.
To stop
meddling in the affairs of the nation’s human rights commission, Suhakam, will
determine whether the BN government has honestly embarked on the road to
repentance, finally giving democracy in Malaysia a chance to breathe.
Source : FMT
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