WE, representing the youth of Malaysia, express our concern and dismay at what appears to be the apparent pattern of institutional abuse by the police, most clearly highlighted by the tragic death of A. Ganapathy.

We are further declaring our distress at the lack of any comments by the government or the police concerning this particular case and regarding institutionalised abuse in general despite mounting pressure from the rakyat.

We assert our solidarity with the family of A. Ganapathy and with the victims of police abuse, who have suffered in silence for too long.

Therefore, we demand that the government launch an immediate public inquiry into the death of Ganapathy and into the institutionalisation of police abuse and strengthen our rights and protections afforded by the law in this respect.

We further demand that, given the numerous allegations that have surfaced reflecting an eroded trust by the public in our police force, the government introduce a complete and comprehensive Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission Bill as its implementation determines the accountability and culpability of our police.

In light of persisting allegations of police misconduct and abuse in custody, we assert our commitment to the rule of law in the preservation of our constitutional rights and protections. Between 2002 and 2016, there have been 257 deaths in police custody as reported by the Horne Ministry. However, the proportion of minority Indian deaths is close to eight times their proportion of the population.

This leads to a clear conclusion that our protections under the law, especially as marginalised groups, have been eroded by the lack of comprehensive independent bodies to review police misconduct.

It is counterintuitive for police misconduct and abuse, which could be construed as institutionalised according to the seemingly widespread and underreported incidents, to be investigated by the same bodies that are alleged to be perpetuating them. The government’s reluctance to tackle this issue in a holistic and effective manner has resulted in the infringement of our civil rights, and as such is unacceptable conduct by a government that now wields expansive legislative power in this state of emergency.

We, the Malaysian youth, who have witnessed and experienced the infringement of our constitutionally afforded rights and the loss of confidence in the body of law enforcement officers as a result of the actions of some, and the silence of many, submit this declaration in hope of a safer Malaysia. – April 29, 2021.

Signatories:

1. The Noeo Project

2. Challenger Malaysia

3. YPolitics

4. Sarawak Women for Women Society

5. The Loud Asians

6. Undi18

7. sorry gais but

8. Youths.my

9. AGORAx

10. MYER Movement

11. Seek to Speak

12. Malaysian Students’ Global Alliance

13. Time To Talk

14. Bulan Sisters

15. The Sambal Pod

16. Dear Asian Youth

17. StandUp Malaysia

18. Cerita Pasal

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.