A lawyer has proposed that the government give the "deep state" legal amnesty in exchange for the truth on various sensitive cases, such as Teoh Beng Hock's death, the disappearance of pastor Raymond Koh, and the racial riots on May 13, 1969.
Andrew Khoo said this is a way to overcome the risks of systemic institutional collapse from the deep state's "secrets" being revealed.
"If any government were to tell us the truth, the fear is that the government will collapse.
"People's trust in the system will collapse. People's confidence in law enforcement and all that will collapse, and no government wants to be empowered with that evidence.
"No government wants to share the secrets that will lead to collapse. So sadly, I'm being very real with you all here today. I don't think that at this time in our lives, we will see the truth," he said.
He was speaking at a memorial service to mark the 14th year since Teoh's death in Kuala Lumpur last night.
The deep state refers to a "state within a state" pursuing its agenda outside of the national political leadership.
Touching on May 13, Khoo said that even after 50 years, the people still don't have the truth.
Thus, he said, Malaysia needed to learn from other countries that have had tragic dark pasts and set up a truth and reconciliation commission - or a similar body - to encourage those who know the truth to step forward.
"You come, you tell the truth, you get immunity from prosecution. But at least we get to the truth.
"(But) we don't seem ready to do that yet," he said.
Khoo said the current administration, however, is unlikely to take this step due to its fragility and lack of courage.
Fight continues
However, the lawyer said the Malaysian Bar would continue fighting for justice and pursuing the truth in Teoh's and other cases.
"There are many other secrets, not just this, there are many other issues that we have not yet dealt with.
"But hopefully, one day, hopefully, our lifetime, we will have the strength one day to stand up and say, we are mature enough, we can deal with the truth, let the truth come out, let the sunshine of truth come and highlight all the dark areas of our lives, of our country so that we can move forward," he added.
Teoh was found dead on July 16, 2009, on the fifth-floor service corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after being questioned overnight at the Selangor MACC headquarters on the 14th floor.
At the time of his death, Teoh was a political aide to Selangor state executive councillor and DAP’s Seri Kembangan incumbent assemblyperson Ean Yong Hian Wah.
In 2011, a Royal Commission of Inquiry determined that Teoh was driven to commit suicide following aggressive questioning by the MACC.
In 2014, the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that Teoh's death was caused by the act of “a person or persons unknown”, including the MACC officers who questioned him overnight before he was found dead.
Meanwhile, Koh was abducted from his vehicle in February 2017.
In 2019, the Human Rights Commission concluded that Koh’s abduction was an enforced disappearance that involved the Special Branch from the police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur.
As for the May 13 riots, while a government report on the racial clashes has been declassified, there remain pervasive disputes on whether the fighting started spontaneously or was orchestrated.
The government's official count of 196 deaths is also disputed. - Mkini
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