The government must order an investigation into the police's inaction during the Seafield temple riot last November, said former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, he said it is about time something tangible was done to introduce accountability in government.
“The death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim has divided Malaysia more than Putrajaya thinks.
“Any genuine effort to search for the culprits or to establish culpability is one way to address the division in society,” he added.
Zaid said the government should not fear that racial tensions would be stoked by such an effort because the people want the truth.
The former minister was commenting on the verdict of the Coroner's Court in Shah Alam this morning, which conducted an inquest into Adib's death.
Based on the testimonies of 30 witnesses during the 41-day inquest, Coroner Rofiah Mohamad ruled that the firefighter had been assaulted by two or three unidentified assailants.
She also found that the police and FRU's failure to control the riot had contributed to Adib's death.
"Evidence clearly showed that there had been several fire incidents (during the riot) before the victim was involved.
"Firefighters had also been threatened by rioters who didn’t want the flames to be put out, but there were police officers on guard and the fires were successfully put out by the firefighters.
"It was unfortunate when two troops of FRU with hundreds of personnel and seven various types of vehicles, including water cannons, only watched the rioters attack the firefighters without doing anything.
"They were only standing by with their weapons because they didn't receive any orders to act, despite the tense situation," she added.
In a Twitter posting later, Zaid said he was perplexed with Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin's comments.
“Zuraida is perplexing in many ways. Coroner says Adib's death due to police inaction or failure to act by FRU on the rioters. She now says the matter should be left to the police.
“Can our minister come up with something useful?” he asked.
Following the verdict, Zuraida said she would leave it to the police to decide on what further action should be taken.
The minister also hoped Malaysians would accept the court's decision, saying it should not be politicised or given a racial or religious slant.
Adib, 27, died at the National Heart Institute on Dec 17, 2018.
The inquest was ordered after two conflicting versions on the cause of his death emerged.
One version claimed he was hit by a Fire and Rescue Department vehicle as it attempted to flee an advancing mob, while the other said he was assaulted. - Mkini
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