Violence And Misuse Of Power

Complaint Filed to SUHAKAM, 15 October 2002

The Anti-ISA Movement was blocked from holding a talk

On 6 September 2002, the Federal Court ruled the detention of Tian Chua, Mohd Ezam Mohd Noor, Saari Sungib, Hishamuddin Rais and Raja Petra Kamaruddin under the Internal Security Act (ISA) as unlawful and “mala-fide”.

On 1 October 2002, the Abolition ISA Movement (AIM) was to launch a new campaign on the Federal Court judgment to demand the release of the ISA detainees in the evening at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. The organisers and the participants reached the Selangor Chinese Assembly hall, only to find a heavy presence of police, while the whole Chinese Assembly Hall was completely sealed off by the police from public access.

Earlier at 6.30 pm, the police forcefully chased out the volunteers of the organisers who were in the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall decorating the venue. The volunteers left the hall on the promise by the police that they will meet the organisers and discuss the matter.

At about 8.00pm, the organisers and about 200 participants were all blocked at the front gate of the Assembly Hall, which was locked and guarded by the police. Despite repeated request by the organisers to meet with the officer-in-charge and the Dang Wangi OCPD, Hadi Ho, the police had unprofessionally and arrogantly refused to keep their promise to meet with the organisers and rejected the request of the organisers outright. It was at this time that the police light-strike force charged with baton and shield without any warning into the crowd who were blocked at the front gate of the Assembly Hall. More than 10 people suffered minor injuries due to this brutal and unbecoming act.

As the people were angered by the brutality of the police and protested to the police, the police finally agreed to let one representative of AIM to discuss with the police. Arul from Suaram went in and met with OCPD Hadi Ho and gave an assurance that the meeting would be held peacefully. Again the OCPD rejected the request for the meeting to take place.

In the end, the launch of the “Mala-Fide Campaign” failed to take place at the Selangor Chinese Assembly. We condemn the violence of the police force shown at this event and the unprofessional and arrogant conduct of OCPD Hadi Ho. We consider the stopping of the launch a gross violation of freedom of assembly and expression of the people and to be political motivated.

We would like to file the complaint on the following points:

1. The police said the organisers did not apply for a police permit for the launching. We maintain that the right to assembly and expression are both enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fedearal Constitution of Malaysia and should be respected. The role of the police is to maintain public order for the smooth exercise of the right to assembly and the proceedings of the assembly, not to clamp down on the rights and stop the assembly.

2. The launching was to be held indoors, in the private property of one of the members of the Abolish ISA Movement, namely the Civil Rights Committee of the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. As it was not held in a public place, the question of police permit does not arise.

3. The allegation of the police that the assembly might lead to untoward incidents was also unfounded as the launch was to be held INDOORS on private property. Moreover, this is not the first time AIM has launched a campaign in the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. AIM launched itself in April 2001 and a support campaign for the detainees’ hunger strike was also held in April 2002 at precisely the same venue, the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. As there was no problems with the previous events, AIM simply doesn’t see why there is a problem this time.

4. The police should not pre-judge that the assembly would lead to untoward incidents as this would not be fair to the organisers. The police should come to the scene and judge the situation objectively and professionally without prejudice and bias. The event should be allowed to take place with the help of the police in preventing any untoward event happening at the scene during the assembly.

5. The organisers had showed full cooperation with the police when the police asked to meet with the organisers at the eleventh hour, which was the morning of the event itself. Despite the late notice, the organisers met with the police on 1 October 2002 and explained the meeting to the police. The organisers also told the police that a registration counter would be setup to prevent uninvited people from attending the launching. The organisers also sent an undertaking letter dated 1 October 2002 (please find attached) to the Chief Police of Kuala Lumpur by hand ensuring that the event will be organised in a peaceful manner. The organisers have not received any reply of the letter. Why was the police so afraid when the organisers were ready to take full responsibility of the launching?

6. At the meeting with the police on 1 October 2002, the organisers explained to the police the guidelines for assembly suggested by SUHA-KAM. The organisers told the police that the event complied with the guideline by SUHAKAM, such as a declaration to assume responsibility, establishing lines of communication with the police etc. The police refused to accept the explanation of the SUHAKAM guideline. This is especially evident when the police rejected the request of the organisers to meet and negotiate with them.

7. As a responsible organiser, AIM was always ready to discuss and negotiate with the police before the event, during the event and after the event. Instead of engaging in discussions and negotiations, the police chose to use brute force in handling the event as if there was no other way. The arrogance and brutality of the police is not just unnecessary, it is unbecoming and unprofessional.