Press Statement by Charles Santiago in Klang on Wednesday, 28^th April 2010:

A transparent & independent inquiry necessary to investigate the death of Aminulrasyid Amzah

The case of 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah who was shot dead by the police revives long-standing complaints by human rights activists and opposition politicians that Malaysian law men are trigger happy.

It caricatures the Malaysian government's impotence on reining in the police force and reinforces the notion held by Hakam and others who describe these extra-judicial killings as an unofficial shoot-to-kill policy.

According to an eye-witness account, the car he was travelling in with Aminulrasyid was shot at after overtaking a police MPV. When the eye-witness surrendered, he was kicked and punched.

In a rambling comment, the Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar was reported to have said that the police chased Aminulrasyid after chancing upon him and the other suspect "in suspicious circumstances".

The suspicious circumstances remain ambiguous.

And in all cases of police shooting, the police often claim that they followed proper procedure and allege that they acted in self defense.

But let's try a reality check.

On 13^th October 1998 five men were shot dead along the Pengkalan Kubor Road, Kelantan over suspicions of arms smuggling. A High Court verdict stated all police personnel involved in the shootout had committed outright criminal acts.

In May 1999 then deputy Home Affairs minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir revealed that a total of 655 people were killed by police shooting, over the past ten years.

Now let's look at some recent cases.

Norizan Salleh was shot by the police on a highway near Gombak on 30^th October, last year. She survived to tell the media her ordeal.

In August, the police gunned down two men who allegedly charged at the police with machetes after committing an armed robbery in Shah Alam.

On 8^th November, 2009 police shot dead five men in my constituency of Klang and alleged they were armed robbers. One week later the police fatally shot a man who reportedly ran amok with a dagger in Guar Sanji, Perlis.

Media reports show there were 39 deaths from police shootings in 2009. And according to a press statement by Suaram, there were 44 such deaths the year before.

This works out to an average of more than three deaths a month and does not include deaths in police custody and unreported fatal police shooting.

In a response to these cases Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who had consistently demonstrated the lack of political spine, said that the police would be responsible for their actions, including shooting criminals in self-defense.

Such a nonchalant reaction from Hishammuddin clearly illustrates the Siamese twin-relationship between the police and UMNO-led ruling government. Furthermore, it reinforces the fact that the Malaysian police force enjoys absolute power.

In the case of Aminulrasyid, all four police officers involved in the incident have been charged with murder and re-assigned to desk jobs while investigations are carried out.

It takes more than this to convince Malaysians that the police could be trusted with an independent investigation as Kugan Ananthan's case is still lingering in our memories.

He died in police custody on 20th January last year. Eights months later and capitulating to public pressure, one Indian cop claimed trial to two principle charges of causing grievous hurt to Kugan to extort a confession.

Earlier the Attorney-General had classified the case as murder. And the deep wounds, lacerations and burn marks suffered by Kugan could not have been inflicted by a single cop.

Complaints against the police officers do not stop at their penchant for shooting to kill alleged criminals. They include deaths in police custody, unprovoked violence, unnecessary long detention of those detained during street protests in the country and humiliation of prisoners.

Despite these serious issues, the government did not set-up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). The IPCMC is a crucial way to instill public confidence in the police and make the force accountable.

Instead a watered-down version, the Special Complaints Commission Bill, was tabled in Parliament. This Bill failed to address the fundamental need for a mechanism that forces the police to be accountable. And worse, complaints would be directed to the police to investigate themselves.

Malaysia has also abstained from voting to activate the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel and Unusual Treatment 1984.

This protocol provides a unique mechanism for international and national human rights experts to conduct regular visits to places of detention to check on the condition of detention and detainees, and to make recommendations in countries that are parties to the optional protocol.

Neither has Malaysia ratified the Convention Against Torture.

Aminulrasyid's case has reinforced the need for the Barisan Nasional government to implement effective measures to provide a check and balance on the police force.

Therefore, I urge the government to order for the suspension of all police officers involved in the shooting and initiate an independent inquiry into the incident and not a special panel at the Home Ministry.

The government must also establish a specialized coroner's court to look into deaths by police shooting and custodial deaths. To ensure that inquests into these deaths are given importance, the coroner's court must solely exist for the purpose of inquest hearings.

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my deepest condolences to Aminulrasyid's family members for their loss.

* Charles Santiago, Selangor DAP Vice Chairman & DAP MP for Klang