COMMENT | What happened to Noorizwan could also befall you

"Instead, a ‘blue wall of silence’ builds up to frustrate attempts to bring the perpetrators to justice, as found by the royal commission on the death of Teoh Beng Hock."

– Eric Paulsen

COMMENT | I do not think rational Malaysians understand how public apathy for deaths in custody cases destroys institutional safeguards of this country.

The political class is banking on public apathy because, in most democracies, the state security apparatus, to varying degrees, is there to safeguard various hegemonic interests, be it capitalistic or theocratic.

The death in custody of Noorizwan Zulkefly is unfortunately just another data point in how this country attempts to sweep incidents like this under the rug. I would argue that the biggest lesson those with nefarious purposes learnt from the political class closing the book on the death of Teoh Beng Hock was that they were immune not only from public scrutiny but also from political oversight.

One of the best expressions of what is wrong with the police comes from former Bar Council president Steven Thiru during a speech on promoting greater police accountability in 2016.

“The Royal Commission (to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police) stressed that, owing to the nature of the job and existing police culture, the code of conduct within the force had failed to ensure supervision and command accountability in protecting the rights and the interests of the public. The preoccupation of being a ‘force’ as opposed to a ‘service’ was at the heart of these concerns.

“In addition, the royal commission also identified the mounting incidents of deaths in custody, as well as the failure of the police to investigate these deaths, and the refusal of the authorities to hold inquests into them.

"Deaths in police custody under questionable circumstances are reprehensible and are an indictment of the police as an enforcement agency,” he said.

Impenetrable wall

Are there good and honest police officers in this country? Yes, there are. But the blue wall of silence is even stronger because those honest officers likely understand that they will have to work with rogue colleagues, as the political class is unlikely to hold these bad apples accountable.

There may even be repercussions if you speak out. Hence, by their silence, they end up with the rest of the rotten apples in the barrel.

Think of how nobody was held accountable for Wang Kelian or Durian Tunggal and most deaths in custody. Think about how immigration officers allegedly involved in various scandals have been shuffled around the bureaucracy.

Nathaniel Tan’s piece on the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) hearing into the death in custody of S Balamurugan in 2017 was riveting, not only because it was lucidly written but because it underscored the silence of police officers who chose not to act. That silence makes it harder to defend the institution, even for those who maintain that alongside bad actors, there are honourable men and women in the force who want to do the right thing.

In the above case, it was reported that during the EAIC hearing, a witness and fellow detainee claimed that while Mohaneswaran Thiagarajah, an inspector at the time, was beating Balamurugan, Mohaneswaran said in Tamil, “You are a (gangster) head outside, but I am the (gangster) head inside (the police station).”

However, Mohaneswaran denied this.

Treatment of the lower class

Why did Noorizwan (below) die? Why were the Durian Tunggal trio shot dead? Did it happen because of any crimes they may have committed, or because it appears there would be little scrutiny from the state? This is about how the political class and the state security apparatus value the lives of citizens.

The “why” will likely never be known in this case or in the many others who have suddenly died in police custody, immigrant detention camps, police shootouts and jails, which could be in the thousands over the years. We will never know the anguish of families of those killed or who have died in custody due to systemic maleficence.

This is also a class issue. This has always been about how the marginalised in our society are the real victims of the state and an apathetic public.

Ten years ago, two siblings detailed the horror they experienced when they were detained. You can read about it here, along with the police higher-ups at the time telling the brothers to lodge a police report, which they said would be investigated fairly and transparently.

Do politicians or those in the upper class get the same kind of treatment?

When police summoned Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh in 2024 over a tiff with a DAP politician, he responded with: “I will never surrender, let alone apologise. Because I was taught to defend religion, race and my motherland even if I have to put my life on the line.”

Except, of course, people like him will never have their lives on the line, unlike someone such as Noorizwan. It is the disenfranchised and marginalised that have it worse. Remember that those higher up on the criminal class structure will never suffer the fate of those without means.

Cases like the disappearance of Pamela Ling (above) and the “corporate mafia” scandal highlight a worrying pattern where institutional safeguards appear increasingly under strain. The online racialisation of traffic tragedies and a political class ever willing to stoke resentment could also create fertile ground for custodial violence and intimidation.

All we are left with are desperate families looking for answers or justice and a political class counting on the fact that the rakyat will soon be distracted by other scandals such as how former premier Najib Abdul Razak will spend his time at home.

If you think that this could never happen to you, it could.

S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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COMMENT | Durian Tunggal case and the legacy of Zahid's 'shoot first' rhetoric

LETTER | Our greatest human rights failure is not abroad, it's behind our own barbed wire