MADPET is for the Abolition of Death Penalty, an end of torture and abuse of rights by the police, an end to death in custody, an end to police shoot to kill incidents, for greater safeguards to ensure a fair trial, for a right to one phone call and immediate access to a lawyer upon arrest, for the repeal of all laws that allow for detention without trial and an immediate release of all those who are under such draconian laws.
33rd Anniversary of Ops Lallang – Abolish all Detention
Without Trial laws
On 27th October 1987,
a black day in Malaysian history, ‘Operation
Lallang’ happened, This massive crackdown using the draconian detention without
trial law, the Internal Security Act 1960(ISA) resulted in about 106 human
rights defenders, politicians and others being arrested, and detained, some for
almost 2 years. The Home Ministry also withdrew the printing and publishing
licenses of the Star, Sin Chew Jit Poh and Watan, which was restored almost 5
months later on about 22/3/1988
Whilst, the ISA was repealed in end
July 2012, other draconian Detention without Trial(DWT) laws like the Prevention
of Crime Act 1959 (POCA), Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015 (POTA) and the Dangerous
Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985[DD(SPM)A] still remain, and many persons
continue to be arrested, detained and/or restricted without trial in Malaysia.
DWT laws allows the Executive to administratively
detain/restrict persons for reasons that cannot be challenged in courts, and as
such LIES and falsehood can be used. The reasons or justification for the use
of such DWT laws cannot be challenged in courts. Hence, the judiciary’s role in
a democracy, to serve as a check and balance to the actions/omissions of the
Executive is removed.
Since the abolition of the ISA,
the scope the current DWT laws are so much wider, to now even include even
ordinary Penal Code crimes. A suspected thief may also be simply be detained
without trial, and not be accorded the right to a fair trial.
DWT laws undermines the rule of
law, justice and human rights – denying the right to fair trial, and even violating
the fundamental principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Article 10 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) provides, ‘Everyone is entitled in full
equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal,
in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge
against him.’
Article 11(1) of the UDHR states
that, ‘Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed
innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has
had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.’
Victims of Ops Lallang – HR Defenders, Community Rights Defenders, Activist,
Politicians,…
Amongst the arrested were human
rights defenders(HRDs), including women human rights defenders like Theresa
Lim Chin Chin(AWAM and WDC), Chee Heng Leng(AWAM and WDC , Cecilia Ng(AWAM and
WDC), Irene Xavier(now PSWS) and Meenakashi Raman(CAP).
Other HRDs arrested included Dr
Chandra Muzaffar (then Aliran President), Dr Tan Ka Kheng (Vice Chairman of
Enviromental Protection Society of Malaysia), Harrison Ngau (an environmental
activist awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1990 for his work to
prevent deforestation of the Sarawak region) , Brother Anthony Rogers(NOHD), Arokia Dass, Dr Kua Kia Soong (Civil Rights
Committee, and now SUARAM), Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim (INSAN and former Chairman of
PSM) and Lim Fong Seng (Chairman of the School Board of Governors of Confucian
High School KL).
Community HRDs included Hiew Yun
Tat and Lee Koon Bun (Chairman and Vice Chairman of Perak Anti-Radioactive
Committee).
PH Plus Government Fails To Repeal DWT laws
Current leaders of DAP and Amanah
like Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Muhamad Sabu were also victims, with many other
politicians from DAP and PAS. Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of PKR was also twice a
victim of the ISA, in 1974 and thereafter in 1998, but he has been criticized for
his silence during Ops Lallang when he was then part of the Cabinet.
Other Ops Lallang politician
victims included , Ibrahim Ali, Tajuddin Rahman, Abdul Latif Mohamad, Haji
Muhammad Ariff Yaacob, Bunyamin Haji Yaakob, Khaled Abu Samad , Haji Suhaimi
Saad, P. Patto, Karpal Singh, Dr V.
David (also a past MTUC Secretary-General), Hu Sepang, Wee Choo Keong, Fahmi
Ibrahim, Ibrahim Ali, Tajuddin Rahman, Abdul Latif Mohamad, Haji Muhammad Ariff
Yaacob, Bunyamin Haji Yaakob, Khaled Abu Samad , Haji Suhaimi Saad, Tajuddin
Abdul Rahman, Mohamed Yunus Lebai Ali and Halim Arshat.
MADPET(Malaysians Against Death
Penalty and Torture) is disappointed when the then Pakatan Harapan Plus
Government, that included PKR, DAP and Amanah, failed to do the needful and
abolish speedily all remaining Detention Without Trial laws including POCA,
POTA and the DD{SPM]A. Judicial review of the reasons for the arrest, detention
and/or restriction are still not allowed, and that could have been remedied
easily by an amendment.
The Pakatan Harapan Plus government
also failed to even table Bills that would lead to the repeal, not even Bills
that will finally enable courts to review reasons why DWT laws are used against
victims – judicial review. If there was no time, Bills could always be debated
and passed at subsequent Parliamentary sessions.
Even if politicians are not victims of DWT laws, people are still
Even though, prominent
politicians may have not fallen victim to these remaining DWT laws like POCA
and POTA, other persons continue to be victims of DWT laws, and any justice
loving person or party must be committed to repeal all DWT laws. A caring
government committed to justice will repeal such DWT laws, and ensure everyone
is accorded the right to a fair trial.
MADPET reiterates our call for the immediate repeal of all DWT laws,
including POCA, POTA and theDD{SPM]A.
MADPET also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all
persons currently detained and/or restricted under DWT laws in Malaysia.
Malaysia must respect the
principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. If
anyone has allegedly broken any Malaysian law, then he/she must be
investigated, charged in court and accorded the right to a fair trial.
Charles Hector
For and on behalf of MADPET(Malaysians Against Death Penalty and
Torture)
128 infected in the Sabah Covid-19 lock-up cluster following arrest and
detention of infected – Lack of regulations, lock-up condition and overcrowding
contributory factors.
Foreigners who became undocumented because of the pandemic should not be
arrested, or treated as illegal migrants
MADPET(Malaysians Against Death
Penalty and Torture) reiterates our call for lock-up and prison reforms, in the
light of recent reportwhen Malaysia
recorded a massive jump in new Covid-19 cases on 7/9/2020, with 62 cases, of
which 50 were from the new Benteng Lahad Datu Covid-19 cluster in Sabah, which
emerged due to condition of lockups that
allowed infections to spread rapidly, the Health Ministry said today. (Malay
Mail, 7/9/2020)
Today (8/9/2020), there were 100
new Covid cases, and 62 of these cases originated from the Benteng Lahad Datu
cluster in Sabah(Malay Mail, 8/9/2020). This brings the total infected in the Benteng
Lahad Datu Covid-19 cluster to 128.
“Based on the risk analysis
performed, the transmission of Covid-19 for this cluster was due to the cramped
and crowded lockup quarters. It was found that physical distancing was also
hard to implement. This is the main factor contributing to Covid-19 infections
among inmates,” Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in
a statement (Malay Mail, 7/9/2020)
A total of 66 positive cases from
the cluster registered thus far, Dr Noor Hisham said 64 of them involved
inmates while two more involved a prison guard and his nephew.
It all started with the arrest of
infected persons who were then detained with other Covid-19 free detainees. The
source of this Sabah cluster was traced back to the arrests of two undocumented
migrants who were then held in police custody at the Lahad Datu police
headquarters on August 24.
MADPET and others, have
previously highlighted this risk, where it was suggested that alleged Movement
Control Order(MCO) violators and others suspected of small crimes should not be
arrested, and thereafter detained with others especially during this pandemic –
the risk of Covid-19 infection is simply too high.
It is sad that this is happening almost
5 months after the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and Malaysia has failed to
learn from past experiences, especially after from the past cases of infections
in Malaysia’s Immigration Detention Depots, where to date there have been
infections at the Bukit Jalil Detention Depot (650 infections and 1 death),
Sepang(72 infections), Semenyih(65), Semenyih 2(1) and Putrajaya(2).
The introduction of possibly infected
persons to an otherwise Covid-free community in detention facilities must end.
Testing and mandatory 14-day quarantine is a must. Temporary detention in
already gazetted quarantine centres is an option.
MADPET urges that new regulations
be put in place in all detention facilities, including police lock-ups, which
would include the non-introduction of new detainees to detainee population
until they have first been tested and/or quarantined, to ensure social
distancing whereby there must be no overcrowding.
Persons who do not have to be
remanded to enable authorities to complete investigations should not be.
Malaysians already know that
remand of suspects is really not necessary for the purposes of investigation,
as was demonstrated in many cases involving prominent persons including the case
of former Prime Minister, who has now been convicted of 7 crimes of abuse of
power, corruption and money laundering.
Remand should never be used as a
form of ‘punishment’ by authorities, and one must never forget the only purpose
of remand is for the purpose of investigation only.
After arrest, suspects can always
be released on police bail, their passports could be seized to counter flight
risk, and there could be other conditions placed, like turning up at the
station for investigation at a particular day and time. There is no need to
place them in remand.
The need for general improvement
of Malaysia’s already overcrowded detention facilities to meet with
international standards must be a government priority.
Malaysian Prisons Department
Deputy Director-general (Security and Correctional) Datuk Alzafry Mohamed
Alnassif Mohamed Adahan, was recently reported saying that there are currently
‘68,000 prison inmates are currently housed in 42 prisons nationwide…’ and that
this ‘…number exceeded the prescribed capacity of 52,000…“ (Sun Daily,
8/8/2020).
About 25% of them are remand
pre-trial prisoners, and the problem for many maybe poverty and thus inability
to afford to pay the bail amount. The government should really release a
majority of these pre-conviction prisoners on reduced bail or even personal
bond, especially when they are being charged and tried for not so serious
crimes that did not cause injury or death.
Migrants who became undocumented after the MCO began
Certain categories of
undocumented migrants should never have even be arrested and detained. This
could include:-
-Those whose permits and/or social
visit passes expired, and could not return to their home countries because of
travel restrictions;
-
Those whose permits/visas
could not be renewed because even Immigration Departments were closed during
the start of the MCO;
-
Those whose permits could not
renewed or extended because of loss of jobs as their employer’s business were
affected by the pandemic; and
-
Those who were documented
migrant workers, who had an employment agreement for 3-5 years, who now cannot
renew their permits because of a sudden change in Malaysian government’s policy
restricting the sectors allowed to employ migrant workers
Many foreigners have no choice
but to remain in Malaysia since there is still major restrictions of travel out
of Malaysia back to their country of origin. There could be other reasons,
including the failure of employers to yet provide for their flight tickets back
home. Many have simply become too poor by reason of loss of jobs and/or income
to now even afford to go back. Malaysia provided financial assistance to
Malaysians, but not to migrants – including documented migrants.
Malaysia may want to provide for
an amnesty to all these categories of foreigners and migrant workers, which
will include no arrests and detentions until the end of movement control
orders, and the restoration of international air travel.
We want Malaysian migrants in
other countries to be cared for by those countries they are in, and as such
Malaysia, must set an example by being a caring government, and should also
look into providing assistance to foreigners to help them survive in Malaysia during
this pandemic until they are able to return home.
Charles Hector
For and on behalf of MADPET(Malaysians Against Death Penalty and
Torture)
Dr Noor Hisham: Crowded lockup to blame for rapid spread of Benteng Lahad Datu cluster
Monday, 07 Sep 2020 05:47 PM MYT
BY KENNETH TEE
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr
Noor Hisham Abdullah said the source of the cluster was traced back to
the arrests of two undocumented migrants who were then held in police
custody at the Lahad Datu police headquarters on August 24. — Picture by
Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — The new Benteng Lahad Datu Covid-19 cluster in
Sabah emerged due to the cramped and crowded condition of lockups that
allowed infections to spread rapidly, the Health Ministry said today.
Earlier today, Malaysia recorded a massive jump in new Covid-19 cases
today, with 62 cases, of which 50 were from the aforementioned cluster
that first emerged on September 1.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the
source of the cluster was traced back to the arrests of two undocumented
migrants who were then held in police custody at the Lahad Datu police
headquarters on August 24.
Both inmates tested positive for Covid-19 on August 31 and were admitted to Lahad Datu Hospital for treatment.
“Based on the risk analysis performed, the transmission of Covid-19
for this cluster was due to the cramped and crowded lockup quarters.
“It was found that physical distancing was also hard to implement.
This is the main factor contributing to Covid-19 infections among
inmates,” he said in a statement here.
Dr Noor Hisham reiterated the importance of complying with the
standard operation procedures, adding that they must be practised at all
times regardless of place.
With a total of 66 positive cases from the cluster registered thus
far, Dr Noor Hisham said 64 of them involved inmates while two more
involved a prison guard and his nephew.
After the first index case was reported, Dr Noor Hisham said 1,404
people have been screened through the ministry’s active case detection
and close contact screening measures.
“A total of 631 inmates, 98 prison staff, 157 family members, 78
police officers and 440 government agency officers have been screened
with a positivity rate of 4.7 per cent,” he said.
The cluster involved two districts of Lahad Datu and Tawau in Sabah,
of which 30 Malaysians and 36 non-Malaysians have so far tested
positive.
In Lahad Datu, 420 people have been screened with 337 testing negative and 33 awaiting their results.
In Tawau, 984 people have been screened with 230 testing negative and 738 awaiting their results.- Malay Mail, 7/9/2020
Health Ministry: Malaysia records another Covid-19 spike today, with 100 new cases
Tuesday, 08 Sep 2020 05:33 PM MYT
BY JERRY CHOONG
People wearing face masks are pictured outside Pavilion Kuala Lumpur February 10, 2020. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — Malaysia recorded another massive jump in new Covid-19 cases today, the Health Ministry has announced.
Of the 100 new cases registered today, 85 were local transmissions with the remaining 15 imported.
According to the ministry, 62 of these cases originated from the
Benteng Lahad Datu cluster in Sabah which first emerged on September 1.
The remaining 23 came from the Sungai cluster in Kedah that was confirmed yesterday.
Today’s figure is the highest since the recovery movement control order (RMCO) came into effect on June 10.
Previously, the highest number of daily reported cases during this period was 62 as was registered yesterday.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the 100
new cases today brought the cumulative infections in Malaysia to 9,559.
“Of this number, 295 are currently active and have been isolated and
are undergoing treatment,” he said during his bi-weekly press
conference.
The 15 import cases include six from India, two from Indonesia, and one each from Pakistan and the Philippines.
“Meanwhile 12 cases were reported to have recovered from Covid-19
today, bringing the total number of recoveries in Malaysia to 9,136
cases or 95.6 per cent of all total cases.
“Presently seven positive cases are being treated in intensive care
units, with four requiring breathing assistance. There have been no
deaths reported today, leaving the total number of deaths at 128 cases
or 1.34 per cent of all total cases,” Dr Noor Hisham said.
The latest ministry statistics showed that 431 people have been
screened in Lahad Datu with 87 testing positive, while in Sungai 470
have been screened in Kedah with 25 testing positive, five in Penang
with no positives, and four in Perlis with one positive.
Due to the increase in infections, the director-general said the
government took steps to tighten border control in relation to high-risk
countries since yesterday.
“The Immigration Department has tightened the entry of citizens from
23 countries into Malaysia. Their entry will depend on the Long-Term
Visit Pass, and is applicable to citizens from countries which have
recorded a cumulative excess of 150,000 Covid-19 cases or more.
“This is one of the steps taken to secure border control. The
ministry will continue the risk-assessment of countries worldwide, with
the latest list of countries facing restrictions to be updated and
announced by the government from time to time,” he said.
From July 24 to yesterday, approximately 29,330 individuals arriving to Malaysia were placed at quarantining stations.
Of this number, 237 have since tested positive for Covid-19, with the
bulk from India at 42 cases, followed by the Philippines at 27 cases,
and Indonesia at 26 cases. _Malay Mail, 8/9/2020
.jpg "People wearing face masks are pictured outside Pavilion Kuala Lumpur February 10, 2020. — Picture by Firdaus Latif")