RIGHTS: Report Admits Malaysia’s Police Corrupt and Abusive

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Anil Netto

PENANG, Malaysia, May 18 2005 (IPS) - A senior police officer allegedly declares he has assets worth 34 million ringgit (8.9 million U.S. dollars); another rakes in 200,000 ringgit (52,600 U.S. dollars) a month from a protection racket he runs. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in Malaysia.

These are part of the findings of an independent commission of inquiry, headed by a former judge, which has taken the country’s police to task for human rights abuses and corruption in a surprisingly frank report released on Monday. It has come up with 125 recommendations to improve police operations.

The commission and its report are being seen as an attempt to repair the tarnished image of the force – and to burnish Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s waning reformist credentials amidst mounting public disillusionment in recent months.

Among the report’s key proposals is the setting up of a permanent independent commission to investigate and take action on public complaints against the police.

Before the report was released, Abdullah’s credibility as someone who could bring about reforms was at stake.

”There was a lot of talk about Abdullah Badawi not being able to do much to wipe out corruption and abuse of power,” notes political scientist Johan Saravanamuttu. ”I see (the commission and its report) as Abdullah Badawi trying to re-establish himself in the eyes of the public.”

Already, the premier has promised to set up a task force headed by him to oversee the implementation of the commission’s recommendations.

The report goes some way in acknowledging what ails the police. In the Malaysian context, the police have always been relied upon to ensure ‘stability’ for the country in more ways than one.

Malaysia has been led by the same party, the United Malays National Organisation – in coalitions with other parties – since independence from the British in 1957.

When pro-democracy protests erupted in 1998 after former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad sacked his populist deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, the police played a key role in suppressing the fledgling ‘reformasi’ movement, comprising activists, opposition politicians and ordinary people.

But the high-handed methods used tarnished the image of the police and undermined their credibility. The most damaging incident occurred in September 1998 when Anwar was arrested after leading a huge demonstration in the capital as tens of thousands of people called for Mahathir’s resignation.

That night, the country’s then top police officer, Rahim Noor, pummelled a bound and handcuffed Anwar in a police cell, leaving him unconscious. Days later when public pressure forced the authorities to bring Anwar to court, his black eye sparked a public outcry.

Other reformasi activists were detained under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) and some alleged that they were abused or tortured – either mentally or physically. The ISA allows for indefinite police detention without a trail.

Also, dozens of peaceful demonstrators on the streets felt the wrong end of police batons while many more were stung by tear gas.

While Mahathir’s administration survived the upheaval – the former strongman eventually stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in power – his suppression of dissent left the image of the police in tatters.

In a sense, it didn’t have to take such a bulky report to find out what most Malaysians already knew about corruption and abuse of power in the force. Even before the reformasi protests, in coffee-shop talk and in the privacy of homes, many Malaysians would whisper among themselves about corruption among the men in blue.

The commission received 468 letters from the public, 232 online responses, and 551 complaints through public hearings as well as 316 suggestions. Its report outlined a litany of cases of corruption and abuse of power involving police personnel, but few Malaysians appeared surprised.

Some see the commission of inquiry’s findings as an endeavour to boost the legitimacy of the police as a key apparatus of the Malaysian state.

”It is an attempt to restore their image,” says Johan.

All the same, the commission’s findings are significant.

This is the first time that an official body has publicly acknowledged widespread corruption, abuse of power and other shortcomings in the force.

”The commission recognises that there is corruption, there are abuses, and vulnerable members of society are without protection under detention,” observes P Ramakrishnan, president of the social reform group Aliran.

But while the commission seemed willing to tackle corruption and the conditions that lead to everyday abuse of power, it appeared less willing to confront the most oppressive of the preventive detention laws, the ISA.

Many former detainees have complained of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment while in custody.

Instead of calling for the repeal of the ISA, the commission merely called for the law to be amended (though it did call for the repeal of other similar laws).

”It is difficult to accept the commission’s recommendation that the initial period for detention under the ISA be reduced to 30 days (from 60 days) when this obnoxious law should not exist in our statute books,” says Ramakrishnan.

Anti-ISA campaigners have pointed out that the worst abuses against detainees occur during the first two weeks of detention, often at unknown locations where the detainees are held in solitary confinement. ”A law that denies a person his recourse to natural justice cannot be justified for whatever reason or under whatever circumstances, ” adds Ramakrishnan.

He adds he is concerned whether the commission’s other recommendations would be translated into effective mechanisms ”to halt the rot in the system.”

Other activists felt the issue of custodial violence, deaths in police custody, and the allegedly indiscriminate shootings of criminal suspects were not adequately tackled.

S Arutchelvan of the human rights group Suaram called on Abdullah to give an assurance and a time frame for the implementation of the commission’s recommendations.

He noted that the recommendations of two previous Royal Commissions – one on local government and the other on a disaster at a fireworks factory – were never implemented.

”We are concerned that this report will face the same fate,” Arutchelvan points out in a statement, adding that the government should give a report every six months on the progress in implementing the 125 recommendations.

One of those who has borne the brunt of police brutality is opposition politician Tian Chua, who was either manhandled or assaulted during the reformasi period.

”As someone who has experienced it firsthand, I cannot but feel cynical (about the report); it’s hard for us to feel any enthusiasm about the recommendations,” he tells IPS, noting that previous recommendations on freedom of assembly by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia were not implemented.

The opposition politician stresses it is not the length of detention that is crucial in preventing abuse of power and torture. Rather, he stresses the government has to abolish detention without trial, tackle the issue of lack of access to lawyers and observe the due process of law.

”Ultimately, it comes down to whether the government has the political will to carry out reforms,” says Tian Chua.