Two victims of alleged police brutality during the Bersih protest lodged reports against their aggressors.

PETALING JAYA: A Bersih protester in search of food was allegedly served with a police beating instead during the final hours of the April 28 rally.

At about 7pm that day, Abdul Razib Abu, 45, was riding his motorcycle near the Dang Wangi police station when he was suddenly jumped by several policemen.

“I was looking for food and I wanted to go home, so I took my bike to Jalan Raja Laut. But many of the roads were blocked, so I had to ride near the Dang Wangi station.

“There were a lot of policemen, and they charged me while I was still on the bike and hit me from behind,” he said, adding that he was wearing a yellow Bersih T-shirt at the time.

He said that “eight to 12″ policemen – all without name tags – bruised him, grabbed his T-shirt and chased him off.

Abdul Razib was one of two people who lodged reports with the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters against alleged police brutality during the recent Bersih 3.0 rally today.

They were accompanied by Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) member Fadiah Nadwa Fikri and Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah.

Pang Choy Wan, 27, was hit by a tear gas canister after riot police seemingly shot at her from about 10 metres away.

Pang said that she was walking with 10 people – including a few senior citizens – when they suddenly stumbled into riot police by the HSBC Building, near Dataran Merdeka.

Upon seeing the group, police shot at them without warning, she said. One of tear gas canisters, Pang added, struck her left thigh.

Speaking to reporters, Fadiah said more than 70 people had complained of Bersih-related police brutality so far.

Though unable to give the full number of police reports lodged, she advised the victims to seek LFL’s help before showing up at a police station.

“We wouldn’t advise them to come alone,” she said, citing previous cases where people going to police stations would allegedly end up being detained or beaten up.

By Patrick Lee | May 17, 2012

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

A technician alleges he was detained overnight and beaten up after he voluntarily went to the police station to give his statement about his participation in the rally.

PETALING JAYA: A participant in the Bersih 3.0 rally who voluntarily went to a police station yesterday alleged he was detained overnight and tortured when he went in to give a statement.

Mohd Safuan Mamat, 24, lodged a report at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters at 6pm today, accompanied by Lawyers for Liberty coordinators Fadiah Nadwa Fikri and Afiq M Noor.

Also present were Bersih steering committee members Maria Chin Abdullah and Mandeep Singh.

Earlier at 3pm, Safuan was brought to a Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur to face two charges.

In the police report, Safuan said that he went on his accord to the Dang Wangi police station yesterday morning, to give a statement on his participation in the Bersih 3.0 rally held on April 28.

Safuan, who works as a technician, claimed that after recording his statement, a plainclothes officer took him to a lock-up behind the station and threatened to detain him if he did not “confess”.

“I was later handcuffed and put [overnight] in a lock-up. Later, another officer, who was in full uniform, came into my cell holding a black metal pipe,” said Safuan.

The technician from Terengganu said the officer asked him whether he was Bersih participant and kicked him on the buttocks till he fell down.

Safuan claimed the officer also forced him to admit that he had damaged a police car during the rally.

“When I denied the accusation, the officer struck my face with the metal pipe. He also hit me on my shoulder when I refused to confess,” he said.

‘I was completely stunned’

Safuan added that after the assault, he was made to change his shirt and was taken to some prisoners who also assaulted him.

“The officer told the prisoners that I was a Bersih participant and one of them slapped me four times. The officer did nothing to stop him,” he alleged.

He said he did not get the name of the officer who assaulted him.

“I was too frightened at the time. I was completely stunned and I couldn’t remember his name,” he said.

Safuan also claimed that while he was taken to the Sessions Court, some officers told him to confess that he had damaged the police car.

Safuan was charged with causing mischief during the disturbances and for not obeying an order of a public servant under Sections 440 and 174 of the Penal Code.

For the first charge, he can be jailed for five years and fined, or both, and for the second charge, he faces a one-month imprisonment and a fine or both.

He was released today after posting a RM1,500 bail.

His court hearing is fixed for June 6.

Meanwhile, Fadiah accused the police of using scare tactics to hunt down Bersih participants.

“The police should have released Safuan after recording his statement and charge him on another day. Instead, they used harsh tactics on him to get a confession,” she said.

By G Vinod | May 15, 2012

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

The agency wanted her to lodge a report and sit through another round of questioning, which she refused to oblige.

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) this morning completed a two-hour long interview with Tenaganita executive director, Irene Fernandez, over her recent remarks of alleged corruption in Malaysia’s employment of migrant workers.

But the interview took an unexpected turn when the two MACC officials questioning Fernandez told her that she had to also file a report with the agency and sit through another round of questioning without her lawyer present.

Both Fernandez and her lawyer, Fadiah Nadwa Fikri of Lawyers for Liberty, refused to oblige and further challenged the intention to disallow Fadiah’s presence.

“I was very clear of my purpose in meeting the MACC,” Fernandez told reporters after the interview.  “The letter it sent on Wednesday clarified that I was required to provide details on my statements and I agreed to the interview on that basis alone.”

Fadiah meanwhile was told that if she insisted on being present during the next round of questioning, then the MACC would take her statement to which she refused consent.

“I didn’t come with the understanding that I would be lodging a report and I stood my ground,” Fernandez said. “The officials checked with “higher authorities” and eventually aborted the plan.”

According to Fernandez, the officials had asked whether she agreed that corruption existed in the employment of migrant workers in Malaysia, to which she answered in the affirmative.

She then outlined six such instances which included the 6P programme that has left over 1 million registered migrant workers still in the dark over their status.

Fernandez pointed out that in most cases the employers concerned had colluded with police who either arrested migrant workers who filed police reports or made no arrests during a raid on the employers’ premises.

Neutral line of questioning

She also spoke of Rela personnel and enforcement authorities who refused to produce identification when interrogating migrant workers and instead assaulted or robbed them.

“I told the MACC officials that I hoped they use their intelligence units to really look into the issues that I have raised,” Fernandez added.

“And I also said that the MACC must critically review its existing system and mechanism that enables corruption and plug the weaknesses. It must be pro-active.”

Fernandez pointed out that one area that needed serious attention was the link between human trafficking and corruption, and she urged the MACC to study the indicators of how the latter gives rise to the former.

“They said they will look at the information I have provided them and I really hope they do so otherwise I have just wasted two hours of my time,” she quipped.

Fadiah later told FMT that while the officials had attempted to intimidate Fernandez in the beginning, they later pursued a neutral line of questioning and let her off without issuing a summons.

“So far there has been no indication that she will be summoned to give a statement but let’s see what happens in the next week,” she said.

Fernandez came under fire after she was quoted by The Jakarta Post on Monday as saying that some Malaysian employers have resorted to “paying the police” or “buying court verdicts” to ensure no action is taken against them.

She later said that she had been misquoted by the daily which subsequently agreed to print corrections to its article.

By Stephanie Sta Maria | May 11, 2012

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Four lawyers from Lawyers for Liberty who were arrested when trying to provide legal aid to detainees three years ago, have filed a suit against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Malaysian Government claiming they were wrongfully arrested.

Their counsel Farhana Abd Halim said they had filed the suit to make a point to the police, saying that arresting lawyers attempting to provide legal aid was a “breach of fundamental liberty, as provided by the constitution”.

The plaintiffs in the suit are Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, 29, Murnie Hidayah Anuar, 28, Puspawati Rosman, 31, and Syuhaini Safwan, 28.

The four were among five lawyers arrested on May 7, 2009 after trying to get access to their clients, who were arrested for holding a candlelight vigil for Wong Chin Huat. Wong was arrested under the Sedition Act for running the 1Black Msia campaign.

The suit filed in the High Court here Friday named seven defendants, including the officers that arrested the lawyers, the commanding officers, the IGP and Government.

By Qishin Tariq

thestar.com.my

Eight Bersih 3.0 participants who claimed to be assaulted by the police on Saturday lodged reports on the matter.

PETALING JAYA: Eight participants of the recent Bersih 3.0 rally lodged police reports today claiming they were assaulted by the police during the rally.

The victims, accompanied by Suaram’s executive director E Nalini and Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) coordinator Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, lodged the reports with the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.

On Saturday, the police dispersed the crowd gathered at the nation’s capital using tear gas and water cannon after protesters breached the police barricade near Dataran Merdeka.

Several journalists were also assaulted along with other protesters.

Speaking of his ordeal, 25-year-old Mohd Faizal Nurhakim Mohd Esah said he was beaten by two police officers.

The engineer also said that the attacks happened without provocation.

“While they were taking me to Dataran Merdeka for detention, police officers stationed at the surrounding area sprayed water on me and beat me up as well,” said Faizal.

He said the assault had left him with several injuries on his back and a swelling on his right shoulder.

“I can’t sleep well now and I suffer pain whenever I try to move my shoulder,” said Faizal who added that he had yet to receive his medical report.

Another victim, Lau Chee Sun,41, claimed that a tear gas canister was shot directly at his left shoulder on that day.

“I was heading from Jalan Tun Perak to Jalan Raja when I saw two tear gas canisters being shot from a LRT track above me,” said Lau.

However, he did not see police officers aiming the canisters at him.

Lau said that he fell unconscious for a while after seeing his left shoulder bleeding. “It was the thought of my family that kept me going,” added the tea trader.

Legal action against cops mulled

Meanwhile, Jashamsulnizam Md Jani, 26, alleged that he was assaulted and thrown into a drain.

“It was chaotic after the cops shot tear gas at us. As I was running, three policemen caught me from behind,” said the lecturer at a private college.

He claimed that he was later assaulted repeatedly before being thrown into a drain near the DBKL office.

“I climbed out of the drain myself and walked all the way to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for treatment,” he added.

Although he was not detained, Jashamsulnizam suffered a bone fracture on his right hand and dislocated his right knee cap due to the abuse.

In a related matter, Fadiah said LFL was still in the midst of documenting more complaints on police abuse during Bersih 3.0.

“We also considering filing a legal suit against the authorities,” she said.

By G Vinod | May 4, 2012

I refer to the recent controversy generated by the protest of some 200 Malaysians of Indian origin outside Parliament demanding for the blue MyKad that would certify them as citizens.

While the actual number is subject to “guesstimate” – a not uncommon challenge having regard to the nature of the problem, whether the number is 30,000 or 300,000 should not be the issue. One should always bear in mind that statelessness is normally a hidden phenomenon and lacking in reliable data. Instead, there should be an acceptance that there are stateless communities with genuine and effective link with Malaysia – and that these people have rights under Malaysian and international laws and norms including freedom from discrimination, the right to a nationality and its accompanying rights and duties.

While these people of Indian origin are not denounced as non-citizens by the authorities, they are nonetheless stateless as they are not considered citizens under the operation of law.

It would come to no surprise that the majority of those who protested are rubber plantation workers or their descendants who have lived a life of exploitation and continue to suffer from government neglect and institutionalized discrimination that are well documented elsewhere. Suffice to say many continue to live in poverty, remain poorly educated and skilled, trapped and with no means to acquire a better living and existence.

As a consequence, some Indian children are not properly registered after birth, leading to the inability to acquire the MyKad although some may acquire the red permanent resident card. There are myriad and overlapping reasons: parents’ own uncertain citizenship status and lack of documents, poverty, birth at home, abandoned children, unregistered marriages, ignorance, apathy, and fear of authorities and fines due to delay in registration.

Without the MyKad, these bona fide Malaysians have difficulties in fully accessing the rights and services that ordinary citizens enjoy or take for granted despite being born and permanently residing in the country all their lives. These rights and services include better education, health care, employment and business, housing and property ownership, social security, freedom of movement, political participation and voting right, holding of passport – all of which leads to serious social problems and the cycle of statelessness that are handed down to the next generation.

There is a serious lack of concern and care by the government and its agencies on these issues. There are only small scale initiatives by concerned civil society organizations and political parties who raise awareness among the communities affected and assist in their application for birth certificates and identity cards.

There is no genuine government effort to register the affected communities nor is there any special procedure provided to facilitate their registration despite knowing the historical inequities and the context of their present circumstances. These “problematic” applications are treated on a case by case basis, and they are usually hampered by administrative obstacles, burdensome requirements, long delays and require repeated visits and interviews.

Even then, these cases are rarely resolved despite fulfilling the general citizenship requirement i.e. for a person born in the country after Malaysia Day whose at least one parent is a citizen or permanent resident; or who is not born a citizen of any country.

For the older members of the community who failed to take steps to acquire citizenship before Merdeka, or were born after Merdeka (but before Malaysia Day), surely they are now more than entitled to a liberal reading of the citizenship provisions and be accorded citizenship whether via operation of law or naturalization.

Rather than be distracted by the accompanying politics and expected controversy surrounding citizenship issues or quibbling over numbers, or worse – saying that it’s too “sensitive” to do anything – let’s use this opportunity to discuss and start resolving statelessness affecting the Indian community and also other communities, among others, people of Filipino refugee descent in Sabah and undocumented Orang Asli and Asal.

 Eric Paulsen is co-founder and adviser to Lawyers for Liberty, a human rights and law reform organization based in Malaysia. He has researched statelessness in Bangladesh, Nepal, and most recently in Burma.

The four were detained for obstructing DBKL officers from carrying out their duties.

KUALA LUMPUR: The four detained yesterday for not allowing City Hall (DBKL) officers to carry out their duties have been allowed bail by magistrate Nur Azura Murah.

The four, including two students, were detained at Dataran Merdeka.

They face a charge under Section 186 of the Penal Code that carries a sentence of RM10,000 in fine or two years imprisonment or both upon conviction.

SIM card seller Shaiful Buhari Ramlan, 24, was accused of prohibiting DBKL officer Jamlus Hamzah from carrying out his duty.

In mitigation, his lawyer G Sivamala requested that bail be set at RM500 but Nur Azura fixed it at RM1,000 with a guarantor.

Karim Abdullah faced a similar charge against DBKL’s Shamsul Othman.

He was allowed bail of RM900 on the ground that he was an assistant officer in the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department with a low salary.

University Selangor (Unisel) student Alif Zainuddin, 21, was accused of obstructing DBKL’s Mohd Azmin Yusri Yusof.

Alif was represented by lawyer Mohd Haijan Omar and allowed bail of RM900.

Ekhsan Bukharee Badarul Hisham, 21, also from Unisel, was charged with blocking DBKL’s Razif Majid.

He was represented by Farhana Abdul Halim and allowed bail of RM1,000.

The four’s lawyers also highlighted that no action had been taken based on the police reports filed against DBKL enforcement officers.

Chief Inspector Nom Phot Prakdip prosecuted the case.

The next hearing would be heard on May 10.

By K Pragalath | April 25, 2012

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Four Occupy Dataran activists have been arrested while a student leader claims that the cash collected from supporters has been stolen.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) enforcement officers detained three Occupy Dataran activists while another was held by an unidentified plainclothes officer.

A student leader also claimed that the DBKL officers had assaulted them and “stole” the cash donated by supporters.

Those arrested were taken to the Dang Wangi district police station. They were identified as activist Saiful, Ekhsan Bukhari from student group Aksi Mahasiswa Peduli, Muhammad Hafiz and Muhammad Karim Abdullah.

Both Ekhsan and Hafiz are students of University Selangor (Unisel).

They were part of a group who formed a human chain to protect their mini-tents from being confiscated.

Pandemonium erupted when DBKL moved in to take away the mini-tents.

“They were punched and kicked by DBKL people. They also stole the money collected from supporters,” claimed Khalid Ismat of Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia.

Earlier, the Occupy Dataran activists set up three mini-tents to protect their food supply.

DBKL enforcement officer Corporal Mazlan Sulaiman instructed the activists to dismantle the mini-tents.

“You don’t need the police. I can instruct the removal,” he said.

Malaysia Bangkit chairman Mohd Syahid Zaini however disagreed. “We want a writtten notice. They only gave us an oral instruction,” he said.

Police reports lodged

Meanwhile lawyers acting for the Dataran occupier lodged several police reports against DBKL enforcement officers who hauled up the activists earlier today

The lawyers – Afiq Mohd Noor, Murnie Hidayah Anuar and Puspawati Rosman – said the reports stated that the DBKL personnel had provoked the activists.

“They are wrongly claiming that the activists were prohibiting them from carrying out their duties,” said Afiq.

He also told FMT that the police have not decided to press charges against the four who were hauled up at noon.

By K Pragalath | April 24, 2012

www.freemalasyiatoday.com