Authorities’ lack of restraint troubling, says Malaysian Bar

The Malaysian Bar condemns the authorities' recent "disproportionate use of force" in the Jawi raid and the arrest of Rafizi Ramli.

KUALA LUMPUR: The authorities’ lack of restraint when it comes to enforcement is “troubling and unacceptable”, says Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru.

Referring to the recent raid by the Federal Territories Islamic Department (Jawi) at the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel and the arrest of Opposition MP Rafizi Ramli, Thiru felt that both incidents indicated a “lack of restraint in the exercise of enforcement powers, coupled with the disproportionate use of force”.

“The Malaysian Bar does not condone the exercise of power by the enforcement agencies in an arbitrary or abusive manner,” he said in a statement.

Thiru also called the conduct of the Jawi officers deplorable since there appeared to have been nothing to even remotely suggest that those present at the event had committed any seizable offence under the Shariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997.

“The raid by the Jawi officers and their exercise of arrest powers without a warrant were unnecessary and untenable in law.”

The subsequent reliance on provisions of the shariah act and the Penal Code to justify the arrest of Ira Sophia and Siti Zabedah Kasim, he added, was also questionable.

Their arrests, Thiru argued, could be perceived as an attempt to mask the unwarranted exercise of enforcement powers.

He also questioned the arrest of Rafizi Ramli, saying that Rafizi’s offer of assistance to the police and the fact that he had voluntarily given a statement to the police before his arrest made his arrest and remand contemptible.

The power to arrest or detain, Thiru said, should not be used to question a person, especially if the individual has cooperated and was willing to further cooperate in the investigations.

He said, police should not seek remand orders to intimidate, harass or punish suspects.

Rafizi, Thiru noted, was arrested when the Dewan Rakyat was in session, which unduly prevented him from performing his duties as the Pandan MP.

“The excessive use of force by the police in conducting the arrest is unacceptable.”

Rafizi was arrested on April 5 under the Official Secrets Act for wrongful communication of secrets after revealing documents linking 1MDB to the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT).

Jawi had earlier this month raided a dinner hosted by the transgender community and had detained Siti Zabedah Kasim for defending the transgenders.