Fearing the cops

The Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar must move fast to restore the lost faith the people once had in the police.

COMMENT

I’m not against the police. I’m just afraid of them. – Alfred Hitchcock, English film director

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein will bend backwards, if necessary, to assure the rakyat that the three policemen-turned-rapists in Penang will not escape the wrath of justice.

The disturbing truth is, does the rakyat trust him on this?

The doubt comes about because this is not the first time the country’s cops have abused their authority and outraged the modesty of a woman.

On June 18, 2008, a policeman on duty at the Putra Heights (in Subang Jaya) police station raped a 17-year-old pillion rider after detaining her boyfriend at the police station for riding the motorcycle without a licence.

The girl was forced to perform oral sex on the cop-rapist who afterwards threatened her to keep mum about the incident. However, thanks to Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, the incident was brought into the open.

But the case failed to perturb the country’s authorities, from the prime minister to the inspector-general of police.

Then in November last year, a 39-year-old finance accountant, who had highlighted her plight of being allegedly molested by a group of 11 policemen seven years ago, found herself in the dock instead, with the charge being related to the incident that took place seven years ago.

Last year, too, the nation’s cops forced female Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) activists who were detained to undress in the presence of male police officers.

(Thirty-six of the PSM activists were detained while carrying out their “Udahlah Bersaralah” – Enough already, Retire Now – campaign in Perak, to remind Malaysians of the pitfalls of returning Barisan Nasional to power in the 13th general election.)

Complaints of sexual misconduct by police were made by detainees in Kepala Batas, Penang, and Ipoh, respectively and PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan said a police officer told them they needed six months to investigate the report.

Clearly, the policemen of this land seem to have become a law unto themselves, perpetrating crimes against women and fearing the ensuing repercussions.

Don’t play politics, BN

The latest incident that has further smeared the image of the nation’s 205-year-old Royal Malaysian Police happened in Seberang Prai when three policemen gang-raped an Indonesian woman whom they had detained for failing to produce her passport.

They also warned her not to tell anyone about the rape. The woman, however, mustered all courage and made a police report against them, leading to the trio being nabbed.

For sure, this incident has placed Malaysia in a negative light in the eyes of her neighbour Indonesia which not too long ago was sore with the former over numerous complaints of maid abuse by Malaysian employers, prompting a freeze in 2009 on Indonesian maids being despatched to Malaysia.

It was after much assurance that Malaysia managed to persuade Indonesia to lift the freeze. And now with the gang-rape of an Indonesian woman, the Malaysian government has a lot of explaining to do to Indonesia.

Maybe that is why the Barisan Nasional government, which manages the affairs of the nation, is all pins and needles over this latest rape incident. If the BN is giving “prominence” to this case by trying to pacify the rakyat that justice will take its course, it is simply to prevent Indonesia from severing ties with Malaysia.

Otherwise, as seen from the previous rape and molest cases perpetrated by the police and that failed to receive any attention from the Home Ministry and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, it is obvious that the BN government has no empathy for rape survivors; in fact, the gang-rape of the Indonesian woman has been turned into a political charade by BN.

The cops and BN equally to blame

It is not only the three policemen who are the perpetrators; just as guilty is Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s government which views rape cases involving authorities lightly.

Justice must be meted out irrespective of ethnicity and nationality. To pick and choose which case to focus on exposes the insincerity on the part of the federal government.

Also, the consistent refusal by the BN leaders to implement the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) gives rise to the question of whether the government is working hand in glove with the police, allowing the the police to escape unpunished for certain crimes.

Looks like the nude squats and rapes in police lock-ups have made no impact on the government, looking at its wishy-washy reasoning in dismissing the IPCMC.

So long as the government refuses to take a stand in dealing with the atrocities committed by the police against the rakyat, no amount of assurance from the Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar can restore the lost faith the people once had in the police.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.