AG must state if public can record police raids, says activist

 

Four people were arrested for using their smartphones to record a police raid on a record shop in Penang last Saturday. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) must provide guidance on whether the public is permitted to record and photograph police personnel carrying out their duties, an activist said.

Rama Ramanathan of Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED) said such information would help the public understand which of their acts are likely to hinder the police in performing their duties.

He was commenting on Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng’s call for Attorney-General Idrus Harun to explain how recording police raids could constitute a punishable offence.

Lim had spoken up after four people were arrested for using their smartphones to record a police raid on a record shop in Penang last Saturday.

“Given the lack of public confidence in the police, we should encourage people to record their action with one caveat: they should not obstruct public servants who are discharging their lawful duties,” Rama told FMT.

“Any harassment or arrest of those who record police operations amounts to blind support for bad cops who give good cops a bad name.”

Meanwhile, former Klang MP Charles Santiago said it was up to the courts to decide whether the public can record police personnel making arrests and conducting raids.

He said police claims that such action could disrupt the discharge of their duties had led to the AGC charging several people in court.

As an example, he cited a 2020 court case involving former student activist Wong Yan Ke, who was taken to court for filming a police raid at his house earlier that year.

“The court has to decide whether the public has a right to record (such police action),” he said.

He called on the home ministry to assure the public they will not be apprehended merely for photographing or recording the police in the act of carrying out their duties.

The Malaysian human rights commission (Suhakam) should do likewise, as such arrests impinge on the public’s freedom of expression.

Santiago said one reason why the public record the police could be because of the lack of trust in law enforcement officials.

The public’s suspicions of the police force stem from a perception that the police think they are above the law, he said. As a result, photographs and videos are taken for use as evidence in court.

“If the police follow the rules, then (they have) nothing to worry about.

“It is only when they break the law by beating somebody up or breaking down doors or wrongly reprimanding or compounding somebody that it becomes a problem,” he said.

Last year, then home minister Hamzah Zainudin said in a parliamentary reply to Lim that the act of photographing, recording and streaming police officers carrying out raids or arrests in public places may constitute a crime.

He said action could be taken for preventing public servants from carrying out their duties under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which criminalises the dissemination of “false” content online. - FMT