Students say police asked them to lie, while cops deny using force to stop protest

Amid growing public anger, Malaysian police denied using force to disperse a students protest that saw 17 arrested and at least two youths badly beaten, with one even slipping into a coma.

News that police also tried to cover up their violence by getting one of those arrested to falsely declare that his injuries were sustained due to falling and not beating, is adding to the pressure piling on Prime Minister Najib Razak's government.

This is not the first time that the Malaysian PM has erred in his handling of 'sensitive' cases. During the July 9 Bersih rally for free and fair election, Najib drew national and international odium for ordering a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters.

"This highlights the seriousness of the so-called Peaceful Assembly Bill. After the July 9 rally, Najib is afraid of any show of unhappiness against his leadership and hence the Bill to further clamp down on peaceful assembly, which is a natural right, rather than what the name of Bill suggests which is for greater freedom to assemble peacefully," PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.

Another "illegal" gathering

Indeed, despite grand promises, Najib and his Umno party are clamping down ahead of snap general elections that are likely to usher in Malaysia's first change in government in 5 decades.

The government-controlled mainstream press have labelled the students sit-in an "illegal gathering", while Perak police chief Mohd Shukri Dahlan denied allegations that two students were injured after being assaulted by Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel.

Shukri said the injuries to the two students were caused by their own stampede and not due to assaults as claimed.

"During the gathering, there was no FRU personnel on duty but only policemen from the Tanjung Malim Police Contingent Headquarters," he told a press conference on Sunday.

The sit-in was organized by the Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim on New Year's Day. It was to protest the draconian University and University Colleges Act 1971, which bans students from any form of involvement in politics, and also to protest the disciplinary action meted out by UPSI against student leader Adam Adli for lowering a flag that bore the image of Najib's face to express students' unhappiness with the UUCA.

Peaceful Assembly Bill even more draconian

Meanwhile, reiterating that the students' assault claims were untrue and defamatory, Shukri insisted police at the outset had tried to counsel the group and gave them 30 minutes to disperse but the students ignored the overture and became more aggressive instead.

"They then advanced and proceeded to lie down on the road which disturbed traffic. Police had to act to ensure public safety but it was conducted according to the book. They then ran to a nearby clinic and caused damage to the premises. Police detained 17 students," said Shukri, calling the sit-in an illegal gathering and the SMM an illegal association.

Based on the newly passed Peaceful Assembly Bill, which was hammered through by the Najib administration despite widespread protest, it is illegal for citizens to gather for whatever reasons without applying for a police permit. The Bill also carries heavy fines as deterrents.

All the students, aged between 19 and 24, will be investigated under Sections 186, 145 and 147 of the Penal Code and Section 27(5) of the Police Act. They were released on police bail but investigations will continue against them.

"This highlights why the Assembly Bill must be repealed like the ISA. It is actually a tool to blackmail citizens into submission with heavy penalties and costs," slammed Jui Meng.

False declaration - from falling not beating

Meanwhile, the students who attended the sit-in have lambasted the police for twisting the "truth" and painting their gathering as disorderly when it was the police which provoked confusion and who began beating them without justification.

One of the 17 students arrested said he was asked to a sign a document stating that he sustained injuries from a fall. Muhammad Safwan Anang, president of Gerakan Menuntut Kebebasan Akademik (Bebas), said that he was asked to sign the document after a police photographer took pictures of him at the hospital.

He has reported the matter to SMM president Ahmad Syukri Abdul Razab and human rights lawyer N Surendran. “After taking photographs, the police personnel asked Safwan to sign a form which read, to the effect of, ‘Mangsa jatuh semasa kejadian (the victim fell during the incident)’,” Surendran, who is also the PKR vice president, told the press.

Malaysia Chronicle