LAWMAKERS should not racialise deaths in custody, Hamzah Zainuddin said. 

“There is no discrimination against any race when a detainee is put under police detention. And the percentage of deaths among detainees is very low,” the home minister told Parliament today during his winding-up session.

“As such, don’t make this a racial issue. Sometimes, we get carried away with our emotions, causing a big issue in the country. We should accept the fact that we are all here together to work out a solution,” said the Larut MP. 

According to Hamzah there were 10 custodial deaths this year, five of whom were Malay, Chinese (2), Indians (2) and foreigners (1).

Last year, there were 13 deaths in custody involving six Malays, Chinese (4), Indians (2) and foreigner (1). In 2019, there were nine deaths in custody comprising six Malays, Indian (1) and foreigners (2). 

“In 2018 there were 10 deaths involving six Malays, Indians (2) and foreigners (2). And the year before that, there were 14 deaths involving five Malays, Chinese (3), Indians (4) and foreigners (2),” said the Bersatu secretary-general.

“Deaths in custody are very low and only constitute 0.015%,” said Hamzah.

He said that Putrajaya had undertaken several measures to address the issue, including the setting up of a panel of private general practitioners to conduct health check-ups on detainees prior to being locked up. 

The government was also in the midst of completing the installation of closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) in all police stations and lockups. 

“The contract for the installation of these CCTVs has been broken down to five zones and we expect the project to be completed by the end of the year.

“This shows we have been making improvements,” he said. – October 5, 2021.