Surendran tries out police body armour, but...
PKR vice-president N Surendran was fitted with police body armour today in preparation to join them in their operations. However, he has yet to sign an indemnity required by the police.
PKR vice-president N Surendran was fitted with police body armour today in preparation to join them in their operations. However, he has yet to sign an indemnity required by the police.
Surendran, a lawyer and the PKR parliamentarian for Padang Serai, said there are parts of the agreement that are contentious and needed to be discussed with his legal advisers and party leaders.
According to his legal adviser R Sivarasa, the indemnity, among other things, absolves the police of responsibility in case of any incident, and bars Surendran from "making any claim whatsoever against the government of Malaysia, the police, the inspector-general of police, or any officer involved in the operation".
Sivarasa said he has advised Surendran against joining in the police shoot-out operation, while Surendren told the media that he is still prepared to go ahead, subject to his discussions with the party leaders and legal advisers.
"I am not asking for a guarantee that I can walk out (of the operation) unharmed. That would not be right because there is always a natural risk of being involved in an operation with armed suspects.
"I am not asking for something that is so unreasonable to make sure that I am unhurt. Our slight doubt is that they are saying that they must not be held responsible, whatever happens. That is a completely different proposition," Surendran added.
'It is quite heavy, actually...'
The duo were speaking to the media outside the Bukit Aman police headquarters, where the deputy director of Criminal Investigations, Mazlan Mansor, and other senior police officers briefed them about the indemnity form and the police operation.
Sivarasa said the police had also invited feedback on the agreement since this is the first time this has been done, and they intend to reply as soon as possible.
The invitation to join the police on operations against armed suspects came from IGP Khalid Abu Bakar himself via Twitter on Oct 11, following Surendran’s criticism of police highhandedness in the use of firearms.
Meanwhile Surendran was fit-tested with a Type IIIa bulletproof vest, similar to what other members of the police will be wearing.
“It is quite heavy actually. I am amazed how they can manoeuvre wearing that,” Surendran said.
A Type IIIa body armour is designed to protect against most pistols, but it can be penetrated by more powerful firearms, such as rifles.
Upon agreeing to join the operation, Surendran will be required to be on-call, since the operation can take place at any time, and he will travel only by transport provided by the police.
Under the terms of the present agreement, he will be treated as a participant of the operation, rather than an observer. However, he will not be issued with any weapon.
“Thing have come to a high point in the campaign to stop unlawful shootings by the police.
“We are hoping that, with this, we can once and for all put an end to unlawful killings using firearms by police officers, which has become rampant in our country,” Surendran said.
He also emphasised that what is in dispute is not the right of the police to use firearms to protect themselves and civilians, but the circumstances in which firearms should be used and oversight on how the weapons are used.
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