ROS' Suaram dragnet widens

The Registrar of Societies (ROS) has questioned a lawyer over human rights watchdog Suaram and summoned a the group's officer in Penang for questioning today.

Lawyer Syahredzan Johan, who is not a  member of Suaram, said investigating officer Abd Rahim Mohammad questioned him as a witness for about an hour from 5pm at ROS headquarters in Putrajaya about Suaram and its activities.

When contacted, Syahredzan said he was also questioned on two forums in which he was a speaker, on whether he knew the other panellists and if it was organised by Suaram.

The two forums are the 'Stop State Violence' forum on Nov 6, and the 'Behind the Barricades' forum on May 2.

When asked why he was called for questioning, he said, “Basically it was because of my involvement in those forums. They saw my name in the Behind the Barricades forum so they called me up because of that.”

Syahredzan described the questioning as “cordial” but it took an hour to go through 10 to 12 questions because Rahim took time to type down his answer and then repeated it to him to make sure he is comfortable with it.

Meanwhile, Penang Suaram coordinator Lee Hui Fei was served a notice from the ROS signed by Abd Rahim, a police officer attached to the ROS, at about 3.04pm today.

ROS vs ROC

According to the letter, Lee was told that she would be investigated under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code due to the “dissatisfaction from a complainant in Muar”.

“Your presence is very much needed to ensure a smooth investigation,” said the letter dated today, which was handed over to Lee at Suaram’s office in Sungai Dua by a ROS officer.

Lee is required to be at ROS’ office in Kepala Batas at 10am on Wednesday.

“I asked the ROS personnel why he is investigating us under the ROS when we are registered under the Registrar of Companies,” Lee said when contacted.

“The officer said that although we were registered under the ROC, we were actually operating as an organisation,” she added.

Other invididuals in ROS’ list

On whether she will provide her statement at the ROS on Wednesday, Lee said she would consult her lawyer.

Besides Lee, six other members of Suaram's staff in Petaling Jaya had received similar letters to give their statements.

The Petaling Jaya Suaram staff were told to present themselves at the ROS office in Putrajaya.

Three ROS officers had visited Penang Suaram’s office on Friday, and did not manage to see Lee as she was away from work.

ROS has summoned other individuals for statements including Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua,  Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah and Bar Council chairperson Lim Chee Wee.

Pua was served notices under Section 111 and 112.

Section 111 outlines police powers to summon witnesses, including obtaining a warrant if any individual refuses to comply. Section 112 lays out the details of an examination process.

The summons comes after Suaram has been probed by six government agencies for allegedly receiving foreign funding.

The Suaram secretariat is crying foul that the authorities have come down hard on them following the expose on the alleged RM7.3 billion scandal involving two Scorpene submarines purchased by the Malaysian authorities in 2002.