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MP SPEAKS | Durian Tunggal shooting inquest: Justice delayed is justice denied
MP SPEAKS | The public deserves a clear answer: why has the inquest into the deaths of three men in the Durian Tunggal shooting still not commenced, despite the Attorney-General’s Chambers having ordered it more than two months ago?
The three men - M Puspanathan, T Poovaneswaran, and G Logeswaran - were shot dead during a police operation in Durian Tunggal, Malacca, on Nov 24, 2025.
After months of investigation and repeated resubmission of investigation papers, the AGC announced on July 20, 2026, that an inquest would be held under Section 339(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code to determine the cause and circumstances of the deaths and whether any criminal elements were involved.
Yet on Aug 10, Bukit Aman announced that the investigation had been completed and that an application for the inquest would be filed shortly. Police also stated that the inquest would be held in Malacca once a date had been fixed.
We are now entitled to ask: what exactly is causing the delay?
An inquest is not a criminal trial. Its fundamental purpose is...
MP SPEAKS | The public deserves a clear answer: why has the inquest into the deaths of three men in the Durian Tunggal shooting still not commenced, despite the Attorney-General’s Chambers having ordered it more than two months ago?
The three men - M Puspanathan, T Poovaneswaran, and G Logeswaran - were shot dead during a police operation in Durian Tunggal, Malacca, on Nov 24, 2025.
After months of investigation and repeated resubmission of investigation papers, the AGC announced on July 20, 2026, that an inquest would be held under Section 339(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code to determine the cause and circumstances of the deaths and whether any criminal elements were involved.
Yet on Aug 10, Bukit Aman announced that the investigation had been completed and that an application for the inquest would be filed shortly. Police also stated that the inquest would be held in Malacca once a date had been fixed.
We are now entitled to ask: what exactly is causing the delay?
An inquest is not a criminal trial. Its fundamental purpose is to establish the facts - when, where, how, and in what circumstances the deceased came by their deaths, including whether any person may have been criminally involved.
This is therefore not merely an administrative matter. Three human beings are dead. Three families are waiting for answers. As Malaysians, we are entitled to know whether the use of lethal force was justified and what precisely happened that morning.
The families have already disputed the police version of events, while police have maintained that the men were shot after one of them allegedly attacked a police officer with a parang. These competing accounts make a prompt, transparent, and independent judicial inquiry all the more important.
I therefore call upon the AGC to publicly explain the reason for the delay in holding the inquest. The longer the delay, the stronger the suspicion that the police account or version of events may not be the truth.
At the same time, the officers involved must not be prejudged. The purpose of an inquest is precisely to establish the facts fairly and independently before any conclusion is reached. But delaying the inquest is certainly not an option under the present circumstances.
Justice cannot be allowed to move at the pace of bureaucracy when three families are waiting for the truth. Justice delayed is justice denied!
RSN RAYER is the Jelutong MP and a member of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Human Rights, Election, and Institutional Reform.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
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It is good that RSN Rayer is keeping the Durian Tunggal shooting in the public eye. But public attention alone is insufficient. Unexplained deaths involving law-enforcement officers must carry political consequences when investigations and inquests are delayed. “Justice delayed is justice denied” should not remain merely a courtroom maxim. Parliament must demand a clear timetable, full disclosure and institutional accountability. Ministers responsible for the police and administration of justice must answer publicly for prolonged delays. A government should be judged not only by the laws it promises, but by whether ordinary families can obtain the truth when state power causes death. The issue must therefore be made to matter politically—at parliamentary proceedings, party meetings and ultimately at the ballot box. Otherwise, delay becomes a means of exhausting grieving families until public attention moves elsewhere.
After so many cases of death while confined, kidnapping and vanishing persons , it is slowly becoming common in bolehland with no outcome. It will be mentioned and questioned periodically by politicians trying to score points and be popular. The case of TBH comes to mind and so many other missing persons case. THIS IS BOLEHLAND, where anything and everything is possible whoever is in power.
Don't expect anything before GE16!
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