Translated from Latin "habeas corpus" means “show me the body.” Habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument to safeguard individual freedom against arbitrary executive power. It is a fundamental right in the Constitution that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment.
The following is an article by Murray Hunter calling for reform of the Special Branch. Originally published in the Eurasia Review 20th November 2023 click here.
Back in 2019, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) completed a public inquiry which found that Amri Che Mat and Pastor Raymond Koh were victims of enforced disappearance, perpetrated by members of the Special Branch.
The modus operandi of both abductions had similarities and were conducted by a professional force.
With the abductions showing all the hallmarks of and extra-judicial action and thus, above the law, the Special Branch must be made more accountable.
The Special Branch is currently a secretive division within the Royal Malaysian Police Force (PDRM), where the channels of responsibility, authority, and accountability is opaque.
The Special Branch is not subject to any act of parliament, nor has any public charter. It doesn’t report to the parliament, or to the executive in any official manner. There is nothing within the law that requires the Special Branch to do so. The Special Branch only reports to the Inspector General of the Police (IGP).
(OSTB : I believe in the past (Dr M 1.0 era) the Director of the Special Branch briefed the Prime Minister directly and regularly on national security matters. I dont know if this is still the practise).
The only indication of the mission and objectives of the Special Branch is a page stating that the Special Branch is responsible for collecting and processing security intelligence to preserve the law and order of the public and maintain Malaysia’s peace and security.
The Special Branch originally focused on collecting intelligence on communist insurgents and unionists. This quickly expanded to opposition politicians, NGOs, and activists. Just about every significant organization in Malaysia has been infiltrated by the Special Branch with its 10,000 employees and 10-15 thousand informers operating across the country.
The Special Branch runs surveillance, intelligence gathering, and infiltration operations that span all aspects of Malaysian society, including religious organizations, mosques, churches and temples, Chinese schools, universities, state and federal civil services, government agencies, local government, NGOs, media organizations, social activists, and even the R---l households.
The Special Branch attends many public meetings and gatherings, press conferences, and events, where there are people of interest. This includes overseas locations, where Malaysians are active. In addition, both opposition and government MPs are kept under surveillance.
Today, the Special Branch has a budget in excess of RM 500 million, which doesn’t include slush funds it has available to fund secret and sensitive operations. Some of these operations are ‘off the books’, and potentially outside the law, and subject to any form of review.
Its necessary to break the Special Branch away from the PDRM. By breaking the Special Branch away from the rest of the police force, the organization can have its own special charter and be made accountable to some external branch of government, such as the parliament or executive. The pros and cons as to which authority the Special Branch should report to can be debated. What is important is that any new charter will allow judicial reviews of the organization’s operations.
In addition, Malaysia has become a large enough and complex society with specific national security threats, where a specialized organization like the Special Branch can focus upon. This has occurred to Special Branches all over the world. Singapore, has detached from the police force, independent, and called the Internal Security Department (ISD). Australia has the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), and Britain MI5.
Breaking away the Special Branch from the PDRM will make the organization more accountable, and keep the Special Branch in check. The Special Branch should not be allowed to hide within the organization structure of the PDRM. The Special Branch should be allowed to grow independently to allow it to grow and meet the needs of a modern Malaysia.
This should enhance the Special Branch to meet the growing national security needs of the nation.
Habeas Corpus - maruah angle. Morality, ethics and our value system. Where are they?
My Comments:
My suggestion is the Director of Special Branch should present a Report Card once every six months to a bipartisan Parliamentary Committee. And by Law, the Parliamentary Committee must be headed by a member of the Opposition.
Most certainly the Director of Special Branch cannot present operational details of their work to the bipartisan Parliamentary Committee but he should present a briefing on all security matters affecting the country and the SB's compliance on proper procedures and SOPs in carrying out their work. The six monthly Report Card will of course be made public.
Like ALL Civil Servants (teachers, judges, army generals, Policemen, public prosecutors, Bank Negara governors etc) the Director of Special Branch is personally immune from civil and criminal proceedings arising from him discharging his duties. Otherwise no one will want to become a judge, prosecutor, schoolteacher or policeman. So the Parliamentary Committee cannot hold the Director of Special Branch liable or punishable for his performance.
The six-monthly Report Card is for monitoring purposes only - this is Step 1.
For Step 2 the head of the Parliamentary Committee must then make suggestions in Parliament to the government of the day (to the Home Minister, Prime Minister etc). In other words the six-monthly Report Card is not to find fault with the Director of Special Branch but if there are any issues arising it is to put the Minister of Home Affairs and the Prime Minister on the spot. So there is a Parliamentary check and balance without interfering in the day to day operations of the Special Branch.
This alone will put the fear of man in any man.
The Quran says that human beings do not necessarily fear Allah. They may fear human beings more.
Surah 59:13 لَأَنتُمْ أَشَدُّ رَهْبَةًۭ فِى صُدُورِهِم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌۭ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ
Surah 59:13 Indeed, you strike more fear in their hearts than their fear of Allah. This is because they are people who do not comprehend.
Surah 59:13 Sesungguhnya kamu sangat ditakuti lebih dari Allah; yang demikian itu, kerana mereka ialah kaum yang tidak mengerti.
Therefore getting a Director of Special Branch who can pray even ten times a day and hoping that that will then make him do his job properly is just foolishness. What if he does not fear Allah?
But human beings fear other human beings all the time - especially things like Parliamentary Committees. In fact I am sure even the mere suggestion of this six-monthly Report Card idea will already start putting fear in many people.
(You will never know Tuan. This is Malaysia. Malaysia Boleh. One day OutSyed The Box is a blogger. Another day he could become the Minister of Home Affairs. Think about that for a minute.)
Finally we need to know what happened to Amri Che Mat, Pastor Koh, Hilmy and Ruth Sitepu. If they were abducted (SUHAKAM says "disappeared") and their disappearances are linked then this is a case of serial abduction and disappearance.
In most countries (including Malaysia) if a person has gone missing or disappeared for SEVEN years then that person (or persons) can be presumed legally dead.
Presumption of death - People who disappear are typically called missing, or sometimes absent. Several criteria are evaluated to determine whether a person may be declared legally dead: The party normally must have been missing from their home or usual residence for an extended period, most commonly seven years.
Amri Che Mat went missing on 24 November 2016. THREE DAYS FROM NOW would be seven years since he went missing. With all due respect to his family, Amri can then be legally presumed dead.
Likewise Joshua Hilmy and Ruth Sitepu were last seen alive on the night of 30 November 2016 (six days after Amri went missing). NINE DAYS FROM NOW would be seven years since the couple went missing. Again with all due respect to their family, they can then be legally presumed dead.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has published a report (click here) that :
Amri Che Mat was forcibly disappeared in relation to his religious activities and activism.
On November 24, 2016, Mat, a Shi'a Musim convert, was abducted while driving to visit a friend. According to eyewitnesses, Mat's car was reportedly surrounded by five vehicles and more than a dozen men, some armed. Religious authorities had previously investigated Mat over suspicions that his NGO was using philanthropic efforts as cover to spread Shi’a teachings.
On April 3, 2019, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) released a report concluding that the police's Special Branch was responsible for Mat's disappearance.
Since foul play has certainly already been suggested by SUHAKAM the case should now be reclassified from 'Missing Person' or 'Disappeared' to 'Murder'. And the case should be reopened as a murder case. My appeal to SUHAKAM is to bring up this matter again.
And if these disappeared persons are declared legally dead and if their disappearances are linked then it will become a case of serial murder or mass murder.
This case will not go away. If not today or not tomorrow, or if not five years from now but at some point in the future these disappearances will be solved.
You cannot have four people disappeared or abducted and then expect the case to just go away. Somebody must be held accountable. Someone must fry.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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