THREE custodial deaths among Malaysians in the last 40 days in our prisons, all ethnic Indians. Much chatter has been generated from this recent spate of deaths, including from prominent persons, organisations and civil society groups and of course the public.

Lawmakers such as Lim Kit Siang and Kasthuri Patto, the Malaysian Bar and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission – the right and proper authority to investigate and report – which has said it would, and a number of civil societies have all weighed in on this.

Then we have the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) established by Parliament in 2000. Whether Suhakam is a toothless tiger in these matters is anybody’s guess, as there was a news report dated January 22 about a lawyer for a custodial death victim who claimed Suhakam has no legal power to probe custodial deaths.

Another worthy mention is Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), a civil society group founded fundamentally to champion human rights in Malaysia and to be a pressure group for change during some dark days in Malaysian history and who have consistently brought this matter up.

Every year there are custodial deaths, but glaringly Indians seem to feature prominently insofar as fatality statistics appear to be skewed in their favour; or perhaps disfavour may be a more appropriate term. The fact of the matter is that while custodial deaths occur among all ethnicities, Indians, who make up less than 7% population appear to feature prominently and statistics seem to indicate they are over represented by as much as 55% of custodial deaths, according to one report quoting a civil society. However it was also mentioned by the group that the statistics only covered deaths reported to them, and it was known that there were a number of custodial deaths that were never reported for whatever reasons, and so the statistics may have a margin for error.

Another report dated March 5, 2018 said a majority of victims who die in police custody are ethnic Malays but that Indian cases are most frequently reported  in the media and to Suaram. While official figures put Indian custodial deaths at 23.4%, the proportion of Indian victims recorded by Suaram is more than twice as much at 54.8%.

Although statistics seem to be murky in this respect, what is clear to all is that custodial deaths in Malaysia have become a hotly debated topic due to the poor explanation as to the causes, many times bordering on the inexplicable and unbelievable. That Indians are in the crosshairs of this matter is very much a visibility issue; it appears they are being targeted. Media reports have more or less established this trend, and there is a real fear among the Indian community, especially the youth, that they may be stopped and detained by authorities for even the smallest infringement, and that detention is a virtual death sentence.

This may sound overreaching but it is a prevalent feeling even among young educated Indians from middle-class families. Although ethnic Indians have been reported to be over-represented when it comes to criminal activities and gangsterism in Malaysia, due process must be given fairly to all detainees. Every Malaysian is guaranteed due process and it is a matter for the courts to decide on innocence or guilt.

The million-dollar question is of course why the mystery and foot-dragging when it comes to clear and precise reporting on the reasons and events leading to each and every custodial death, irrespective of the ethnicity of the detainee. Everytime a death in custody happens and it seems to happen with alarming regularity, the same questions are asked and largely remain unanswered: why were detention standard operating procedure not followed, where is the closed-circuit television footage of detainees cells and of interrogation rooms where there are allegations of mistreatment and even torture, why were immediate family members not informed in the case of detainees suddenly being taken seriously ill and in some cases only notified hours after death occurred, why the discrepancies in some cases between the police official account of events leading to a custodial death and the coroner’s report where blunt force trauma seems to feature on a statistically significant number of these reports.

We have a major problem that does not appear to have a resolution anytime soon. The calls for the formation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission bill was submitted to Parliament, was met with resistance and withdrawn. A watered-down version – the Independent Police Conduct Commission bill – was later submitted for first reading in August 2020, and remains in the air as Parliament was suspended in March.

For now, the responsibility for decisions on prosecution if wrongdoing in custodial deaths is found lies with the public prosecutor and the Attorney-General’s Chambers. The investigations presumably can only begin when a police report is made, and then the question remains whether police can unbiasedly investigate itself without fear or favour.

Until such time a truly independent body is formed by act of Parliament and answerable only to Parliament can any closure on this festering problem be achieved. It is not simply a Malaysian Indian problem, it is a Malaysian problem that can happen to any one of us regardless of race, religion or creed. Racially tinged glasses must be discarded by all parties and the dithering must stop, for all our sakes. – June 1, 2021.

* J. Jeyasingam reads The Malaysian Insight.

* 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.