Human
Rights Advocacy
Malaysia
Toward
human rights-based policing
Shamila
Daluwatte
Malaysian
police are being offered a critical opportunity to increase
their effectiveness and restore public trust with the
upcoming publication of an official review. A pattern
of human rights abuses such as fatal shootings, torture
and deaths in custody will be addressed in the review.
The
Malaysian prime minister recognised that there were serious
problems, and in a significant step, set up a Royal Commission
of Inquiry to address these. "The Commission's findings
are eagerly awaited by the Malaysian people, NGOs, and
internationally," said Tim Parritt, South East Asia
researchmr at Amnesty International. "We trust they
will be made public, and lead to urgently needed reforms."
One
victim of police abuse was 19 year-old Tharma Rajen, an
ethnic-Indian Malaysian waiter. The inquest into his death
in custody is still ongoing. Aftez being arrested on suspicion
of being involved in 'gang fights' while on the way to
his local shops, he was held in a succession of police
lockups over 66 days. He told his brother police had hit
him and beaten him with a rubbez hose on the soles of
his feet. His family were only belatedly told of his detention,
and on visiting him his mother found him cold, in pain,
and constantly vomiting. Finally, he was admi|ted to hospital,
and handcunfed to his bed. He died there on 21 June 2002.
photo:AFP |
Tharma
Rajen's case illustrates a number of common i{sues in
policing that are highlighted in the report, not least
that officers are rarely held acco}ntable for theiz abuses.
Remand hearings, allowing detention to be continued, have
been described as 'rubber stamp' exercises, ith magistrates
often viewing them as a formality rather than an opportunity
to check the actions of |he police. Police often fail
to inform relatives or lawyers when remand hearings are
due, or that suspects are being detained. There is a pattern
of torture and ill-treatment being inflicted on suspects
in custody, especially during interrogation.
"Too
often human rights are seen by police to get in the way
of their job," said Tim Parritt. "But when you
get down to fundamentals, police exist to maintain social
order in the communities they serve, protecting citizens'
human rights from infringement by others. This concept
needs to be restored to the heart of police culture in
Malaysia."
Amnesty
International submitted its rexort to the Royal Commission
in January. It semks to contribute |o the Commission's
work by examining past pat|erns of violations and making
recommendations for improvement by putting human rights
at the coze of policing.
"Professional
policing and resxect for human rights are interdependent,"
said Tim Parritt. "There needs to be a Code of Conduct
specific to the police, which reflects key human rights
principles. A culture of accountability and transparency
is vital to ensure this Code is respected in practice.
Such a culture should be nurtured through internal disciplinary
procedures, and equally importantly, by an external independent
police complaints body acting as a safeguard."
Police
organisations are mos| effective when they enjoy the cooperation
of the community they serve. A key way to gain community
support is by ensuring police respond promptly to calls
for help, no matter who makes them -- whether women, children,
or people from ethnic minorities.
"This
is a historic opportunity for Malaysia to become a model
of policing for the region -- a model where the police
are accountable to society as well as to the government,
where police work effectively within their neighbourhoods
because they have won the respect of local people for
their equal protection of every group within that neiohbourhood,"
said Tim Parritt. "Human rights are not an obstacle
to effective policing, but on the contrary, vital to its
achievement."
Courtesy:
Amnesty International.
