KUALA LUMPUR - There is little doubt that Opposition politician N Surendran is a thorn in the flesh of Prime Minister Najib Razak's government, especially as far as the Home Ministry and some of the top police chiefs are concerned.
Should a nasty 'accident' - whether planned or truly the result of grave danger - befall him, it won't surprise anyone if the news that he has been put out of action, even temporarily, raised a secret sigh of relief in some of the government offices and departments.
Why? Because at 46, a brilliant lawyer and eligible bachelor still, Surendran has been able to focus on the issues that haunt the Indian community most, and bring these to national attention.
The issues include rampant deaths in police custody, Indians born in Malaysia but denied citizenship despite applying for years, unfair laws, racial and religious discrimination, lack of education opportunities and so on.
Surendran and his team, which often include party mates such as S Jayathas, Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah and lawyer Latheefa Koya, have been instrumental in forcing the government to order second autopsies for custodial death victims such as Kugan Ananthan and S Dharmendran.
Through dogged lobbying, they have managed to force the government to level murder charges on those responsible for these brutal killings. So far, one constable has been found guilty of causing Kugan's death, while 4 other officers are due to face trial for Dharmendran's murder.
Death is Irreversible
Hence, it is not difficult to understand the worry - even near hysteria - among his supporters at the news that he had accepted the "unprofessional" challenge thrown at him by Inspector General of Police Khalid Ibrahim.
"The Attorney General should tell us if the Standard Operating Procedures governing police shootouts allow for ordinary civilians to be included in such operations. He should also tell us which law permits the IGP to invite ordinary citizens to participate in operations exclusively reserved for trained members of the force if he is to convince us that such an invitation is in the first place lawful at all," MP for Puchong and renowned criminal lawyer Gobind Singh said in a statement.
"It is also alarming to see the IGP insist that Surendran sign letters of indemnity so as to absolve others of liability in the event harm does come to Surendran during the shootout. The AG must comment on the legality of this as well."
Cutting through the verbiage is the fact is that many of Surendran's supporters, friends and colleagues fear that some of the police who may have a grudge against him will use the opportunity to harm him in some way or other.
And as the saying goes 'death is irreversible'. They do not want him to take the risk or be a sitting duck for his "enemies".
"To us, we see that they (the authorities) have been trying to shame Surendran because of his outspokenness. To us, it is like a trap, so now is their opportunity if they have bad intentions towards him. Even if he is not killed, he can be hurt. We don't want that to happen. He has helped us so much, we don't want him to be crippled or blinded just because there are some people who have lost their sense of humanity because they have become so arrogant," one of his clients, an Indian lady, told Malaysia Chronicle.
Racial supremacy and Nazism
To foreign readers trolling cyberspace, it might be jaw-dropping to discover that Malaysians could suspect their own top cop and Home Minister of being capable of murder, and being bold enough to carry it out during a highly-publicized operation.
But then as Surendran's supporters and friends have pointed out, Malaysia appears to have lost its balance of late, veering further and further into fundamentalism.
The horrific racial supremacy being chased after by Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Umno party has created an environment of ruthless extremism that is not only shocking but plain for all to see.
"In the past, the non-Malays griped about racial and religious bigotry. They shook their finger and warned about apartheid. Now what we are seeing is like Nazism. The Malays feel they have the right to do what is necessary to protect agama, bangsa dan negara and so long as you are not Malay, you stand in their way. For this, Najib as the prime minister must take the blame. He has in his the hand the power to say stop it. But he doesn't and instead he is behind a lot of the moves to drive up a new rush of Malay emotionalism. Zahid is a prime example," Eddie Wong, a veteran political observer told Malaysia Chronicle.
He was referring to Home Minister Zahid Hamidi, who stirred up a controversy earlier this month with comments that the police did not have to give warning but 'just shoot if they had evidence' because most of the victims were "our Malays".
Glorifying 'murder'
Instead, the mainstream media has gone on a propaganda binge to glorify and justify the aggressive police action that Surendran and many in the legal fraternity have labelled as unauthorized killing, or murder even.
"Executing a suspect without a judicial process or a valid legal defence is extra-judicial killing, is unlawful, bypasses the legal process and is no different from a mob killing," Lawyers for Liberty, a legal NGO, said in a statement.
"It is easy to perceive the killing of a suspect as something to be applauded, because the suspect is often portrayed as a hardcore, guilty criminal, deserving of nothing less than the death penalty. Wong Chun Wai’s appalling and childish article in the Star last Sunday painted a picture of armed and dangerous criminals, using this image to justify the ‘shoot first’ policy and demanded the return of Chuck Norris and Clint Eastwood-style of summary justice."
Surendran, who is also the MP for Padang Serai, had been at the forefront of the criticism that roiled the government and police in the aftermath of Zahid's callous comments.
The Padang Serai rep was also active in Parliament, vehemently objecting against the return of the Prevention of Crime Act, a draconian law that allows the police to imprison suspects for indefinite periods of time without trial.
Soon after, the IGP went on Twitter to invite Surendran to join the cops on their 'next shootout'.
Why invite Surendran if you can't offer him adequate protection
And while IGP Khalid offered to fit Surendran with body armor, he also insisted that Surendran sign a letter of indemnity. This is what has caused great suspicion and concern for Surendran's safety.
"Are the police saying they are not able to safeguard Surendran or that they are just going to give him a body suit and then leave him to fend for himself? Then why invite him in the first place? Surendran is an elected rep not a trained police officer. How can the IGP invite him and then demand that he sign an indemnity. Does this make sense? " MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
"What's up, is someone planning revenge or something bad? Sorry but this is the sad perception the public has and as for why is it so negative? Perhaps the police, Zahid and Najib should do some serious soul searching for the answer."
Meanwhile, Surendran has gone to the Bukit Aman police headquarters to be measured for body armour.
He told reporters there that party leaders would discuss if he should accept Khalid's invitation.
Surendran said that deputy federal CID director Mazlan Mansor had informed him in a meeting today that full indemnity from lawsuits was required before he could join an operation against suspected criminals.
“At no point am I saying that I must be unhurt,” Malay Mail quoted him as saying.
“There’s a risk and I have to take it... But they’re saying that they must not be held responsible for whatever happens. So that’s different."
Malaysia Chronicle
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