Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang Siang in Petaling Jaya on Friday, 22^nd May 2009: 

Hishammuddin should send the OCPDs of Brickfields and Ampang Jaya to a human rights sensitization course or the Home Minister should himself undergo such a course first

Malaysians are shocked by the outrageous conduct of the OCPDs of Brickfields and Ampang Jaya, Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Talib and Abd Jalil Hassan, whose boorish conduct are caught on video, serving as prime examples of police officers who have no notion or respect for human rights or even civil behaviour.

Both of them have brought shame not only to the country, but also to the Royal Malaysian Police Force, in their unprofessional conduct and excessive display of police power – showing utter contempt for elected representatives of the people and ordinary members of the public.

When police officers could summon massive police reinforcements to deal with a small and peaceful group of civic-minded Malaysians lighting candles to send their message of protest to the authorities over the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak, something is very wrong with the training of police officers. In fact, something is very wrong with the direction the country is heading.

In not charging the five lawyers and 15 others arrested in connection with a candlelight vigil in Kuala Lumpur on May 7, the Police should have won back some goodwill for their disgraceful detention of the 20 – but all such goodwill had been undone with further spate of arrests of 27 persons for peaceful candlelight vigils, including DAP MP for Serdang Teo Nie Ching and DAP Selangor Assemblywoman (Teratai) Jenice Lee, and the remand this morning of 16 of them for two days.

I am prepared to send the videos of such disgraceful and unacceptable conduct by the OCPDs of Brickfields and Ampang Jaya to the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, and Malaysians want to know whether the Home Minister finds such conduct by the OCPDs of the two police districts in Federal capital acceptable or excusable.

Hishammuddin should send the OCPDs of Brickfields and Ampang Jaya to a human rights sensitization course or the Home Minister himself should undergo such a course first.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor