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UPDATE (Malaysia): Malaysian police minister defends the police following their abusive and degrading treatment of two Chinese women

December 2, 2005

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

2 December 2005

[RE: UA-226-2005: MALAYSIA: Chinese women forced to strip naked, detained and abused in police stations in Malaysia]
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UP-155-2005: MALAYSIA: Malaysian police minister defends the police following their abusive and degrading treatment of two Chinese women

MALAYSIA: Arbitrary arrest; abuse of detainee; the rights of women; discrimination
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to update you on information we have received regarding the alleged abuse of two Chinese women in Malaysian police stations (to see further details of this case, please refer to UA-226-2005).

According to this information, upon the emergence of a video clip showing a Chinese woman being forced to strip naked and do squats, the minister in charge of the police, Mr Noh Omar at first stated foreigners who do not like the way his officers behave should leave the country. He also told lawmakers that he believed the police had followed the rules, seemingly putting him at odds with Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who had announced a full independent inquiry, and the Home Minister Azmi Khalid, who affirmed that it was a case of police abuse and therefore he promised that the government would take the necessary action.

Adding further to this controversy and the widespread outrage this case has stirred in Malaysia, the Malaysian deputy police chief also said that it was standard procedure for suspects to be forced to strip and squat repeatedly while holding their ears.

However, Mr Omar has now come forward and partially apologised for his remarks saying that he was sorry if anyone had interpreted his comments negatively.

The AHRC would have hoped that Mr Omar would apologise for his comments themselves; not for any misunderstanding of them. As the minister in charge of the police, we would have hoped that Mr Omar would acknowledge the human rights violations that occurred against these women while in Malaysian police stations, and saw the need to investigate this matter. Instead, he chose to defend the actions of the police and call for foreigners to leave if they did not like it.

On 29 November, the Chinese government stepped in and asked for abusive police officers to be punished and for its citizens in Malaysia to be properly protected. In line with their request, we too call for intervention in this case.

Please write to the relevant authorities below seeking their intervention. A full and independent investigation must first be conducted into the treatment of the Chinese women detained in Malaysian police stations. If police officers are found negligent in their duty in the treatment of these women, then full disciplinary/legal action should be taken against them. The minister for police should also be reprimanded for his remarks and suspended from his duty, as the alleged human rights violations by the Malaysian police should in no way be defended. Finally, if forcibly stripping detainees and making them repeatedly squat in front of police personnel is standard practice, as stated by the deputy police chief, then reforms should be made into the entire detention process.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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Suggested letter:

Dear _________,

MALAYSIA: Malaysian police minister defends the police following their abusive and degrading treatment of two Chinese women

I am writing to voice my dismay about the comments made by the Malaysian minister in charge of the police, Mr Noh Omar who initially stated that foreigners who do not like the way his officers behave should leave the country. Mr Omar’s then feeble apology for any misunderstanding regarding his comments did nothing to redeem his position, as I would have hoped he was sorry for his beliefs, rather than people misinterpreting him. As the minister in charge of the police, I would have hoped that Mr Omar would acknowledge the human rights violations that occurred against these women while in Malaysian police stations, and saw the need to investigate this matter. Instead, he chose to defend the actions of the police and call for foreigners to leave if they did not like it.

Owing to the seriousness of the alleged abuse against these women, and the dismissive comments made by the most senior police official in the country, I write to you seeking your intervention so that this case might be dealt with with the significance it deserves. I call on you to take measures to ensure that a full and independent investigation be conducted into the treatment of the Chinese women detained in Malaysian police stations. If police officers are found negligent in their duty in the treatment of these women, then full disciplinary/legal action should be taken against them. The minister for police should also be reprimanded for his remarks and suspended from his duty, as the alleged human rights violations by the Malaysian police should in no way be defended. Finally, if forcibly stripping detainees and making them repeatedly squat in front of police personnel is standard practice, as stated by the deputy police chief, then reforms should be made into the entire detention process.

I trust that you will take action in this case.

Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND LETTERS TO:

1. . Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail
Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia
Level 1-8 Block C3, Parcel C,
Federal Government Administrative Center,
62512 Putrajaya
MALAYSIA
Tel No: +603-88855004, +603 - 8885 5000
Fax No: +603 - 8888 9362
Email:  ag@agc.gov.my 

2. Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Omar
Inspector General of Police
Ketua Polis Negara, Ibupejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia
Bukit Aman, 50502 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Tel: +603 2273 1326
Fax: +603 2272 2710 / 2273 1326

3. Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM)
29th Floor, Menara Tun Razak
Jalan Raja Laut, 50350 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Tel: +603 2612 5600
Fax: +603 2612 5620
E-mail: humanrights@suhakam.org.my

4. Dato' Seri Abdullah Hj. Ahmad Badawi
Prime Minister
Block D1, Parcal D, Pusat Pentadbiran Putrajaya
62502 Putrajaya, Selangor
MALAYSIA
Fax: + 60 3 8886 8014
E-mail: abdullah@kdn.gov.my

5. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Elimination of violence against women
c/o Ms Lucinda Ohanlon
Room 3-042
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: lohanlon@ohchr.org

6. Ms Leila Zerrougui
Chairperson
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
c/o Miguel de la Lama
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTENTION: Working Group on Arbitrary Detention)
Email: mdelalama@ohchr.org
Thank you
 
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-155-2005
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.