ARE civil liberties the rights of the people or have they become the privileges of VIPs? Can the government explain why a disabled man abused by an escort of the privileged is being denied justice?

Lawyers for Liberty has repeatedly asked about the status of the police case of  disabled e-hailing driver Ong Ing Keong, who claimed he was assaulted by an escort of Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim

Lawyer Latheefa Koya, who represents Ong, said there has been no news about the case Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain announced on June 5 that the investigation papers had been sent to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for action.

“No one has been prosecuted for the assault upon Ong. No arrests have been made,” Latheefa said in a statement.

She said the silence from the authorities was unacceptable and urged the AGC and police to explain the delay.

In June 2022, a journalist, exasperated at the police’s refusal to investigate a complaint, penned an open letter to then IGP Acryl Sani Abdullah. Her letter detailed how a 2020 police report on criminal intimidation was mishandled by incompetent officers at the Banda Hilir police station in Malacca.

The journalist asked to make an official complaint to the station chief Masrol Riadi, Upon entering Masrol’s office, she was told by the sub-inspector, “Mata kamu mengesteamkan!” (Your eyes are a turn-on).

The misbehaviour did not stop there. It was followed by messages and videos from the senior cop. Despite being admonished, he continued with the harassment. Fed up, the journalist raised the matter with then Malacca Tengah deputy OCPD Raiz Mukhliz Azman Aziz, who assigned Noor Zarini to investigate the original complaint of criminal intimidation and chastise Masrol.

This journalist, like the LFL group, was left wondering about the status of her case. When the journalist sent a WhatsApp message to Noor Zarini on August 1, 2022, enquiring about the case, the police officer apologised for the delay. When admonished by the journalist, Noor Zarini cut off communication with her.

The journalist had also emailed her complaint to the police’s Integrity Department but received no reply. Noor Zarini has since been transferred to Bukit Aman. What has she done to deserve the promotion?

Not applicable to police

Could Razarudin explain why cops are allowed to only investigate the cases they like? This is precisely why the people have for almost two decades please for establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

It is no secret that the IPCMC will never see the light of day. Why isn’t anyone interested in weeding out corrupt and incompetent police personnel?

Facebook owner Meta has taken the police to task for masterminding a troll farm designed to “corrupt or manipulate public discourse?”

In its “Adversarial Threat Report for the Second Quarter of 2022”, Meta exposed Malaysia’s police force as being behind the troll farm. Meta said troll farm accounts were active on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram and accusing critics of theBarisan Nasional of corruption. They also created Facebook Pages posing as independent news entities.

Bukit Aman secretary Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin denied the force’s involvement in such acts. He said the police were taking the allegations seriously and in the midst of investigating them.

Wasn’t it perplexing that the police were able to conclude that all was well while the investigation was ongoing?

Transparency International Malaysia, in a letter to the editor last year, complained about the lack of political will to set up the much-needed IPCMC. IPCMC was mooted by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the police. Chaired by former chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, in 2005, its aim was to improve oversight and allow independent investigation and punishment for errant, abusive, and corrupt officers.

A glimmer of hope came when the Pakatan Harapan government tabled the IPCMC Bill in 2019, only to have it deferred for review by a select committee due to a “lack of consultation”. The death knell came with the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration in February 2020. Its successor, Perikatan Nasional, got rid of IPCMC and replaced it with a watered-down Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) Bill.

The IPCMC saga spanned 17 years, the bill rejected each time by all four governments and five prime ministers. The seven inspectors-general of police that came and went were at best hapless as the IPCMC suffered four name changes.

In 2021, inspector-general of police Abdul Hamid Bador revealed a police culture of corruption among police personnel. Then Johor police chief Ayob Khan said he would charge errant police officers in court instead of referring them to the police’s Integrity Department.

Why are the police bent on silencing the people? Is silence not a hallmark of complicity? – July 20, 2024.