Even as the High Court rapped Prime Minister Najib Razak's government for its "tainted" decision in declaring the Bersih 2.0 rally, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission's inquiry into police misconduct in Bersih 3.0 continued to shock.
A 34-year-old male tuition teacher from Subang Jaya who had taken part in the April 28, 2012 sit-in protest for clean polls told the inquiry on Tuesday that a policeman took his gold chain and then hit him.
The cop also hruled racial slurs, including calling him a "Chinese pig", while robbing him at the same time. The alleged incident happened in front of the Royal Selangor Club nearby to the Bersih 3.0 Dataran Merdeka venue.
"The policeman tugged at my gold chain. I struggled as the chain cut at my neck but managed to unlock the chain eventually. I tried to put the chain in my pocket but the cop took it away and hit me for doing so,” Malaysian Insider reported the teacher Leong Siew Meng as telling the Suhakam panel.
“The more I fought, the harder I was hit.The cop did not handcuff me. He called me an ‘arrogant being’ and ‘Chinese pig’ along the way to the club.”
Leong said he was taken to the Jalan Semarak Police Training Centre. He also told of how he heard other policemen singing the song “Inilah Barisan Kita”.
At the Semarak training centre, he was given food and water and allowed to contact his family through his mobile phone. But though he was released at midnight, his gold chain was not returned to him.
Too many lies, too much disappointment
For decades Malaysians have railed at the racism and religious bigotry encouraged by the Umno-led BN government in a bid to segregate the races and maintain political power.
Najib's pledges of reform and greater democratic space in the aftermath of last year's Bersih 2.0 were proven to be false with the brutal police crackdown he ordered against the Bersih 3.0 rally in April this year.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's refusal to confront public fears that crime was rising in the country, insisting that it was "perception" and a ploy by the Opposition to tarnish his government was another nail in the coffin for the ruling Umno-BN coalition.
"Instead of keeping to his promises, Najib ordered an even greater crackdown, more bloody and much more brutal against Bersih 3.0 compared to Bersih 2.0. How do you regain credibility after that?" PKR vice Chua Jui Meng toldMalaysia Chronicle.
"That the police and other government agencies including teachers think nothing of calling the non-Malays names like 'pendatang' and so forth are evidence that Umno actively seeks to create racial hatred. So 'Chinese pig' is not at all unlikely or surprising. The hurt and anger no longer boils up like before. And this is even more dangerous for the BN, It shows the people see through them completely and have given up on them totally. This is why Najib needs to resist clean polls and has done his worst to stop the Bersih rallies."
Bersih 2.0 legal, it's Hisham who's "tainted"
The 3-member Suhakam inquiry panel is led by vice chairman Dr Khaw Lake Tee. The other commissioners are Professor Dr Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid and Detta Samen. The panel plans to interview some 22 witnesses over a period of 22 days. The inquiry continues tomorrow.
Earlier on Tuesday, the High Court quashed a Home Ministry ruling that the Bersih 2.0 rally was illegal, describing the decision by Home Minister Hishammuddin as "tainted".
“The minister’s order is quashed because Bersih is a lawful society,” Justice Rohana Yusuf ruled.
Malaysia Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.