Kg Medan victim files RM50mil suit against Suhakam
A victim of last years Petaling Jaya Selatan clashes today filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian Human Rights Commission or Suhakam seeking RM50 million in damages for failing to initiate an inquiry into the clashes.
The suit was filed today by lawyers M Manoharan, P Uthayakumar, M Manogar, C Segar and A Sivanesan on behalf on V Subramaniam, 52, at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
It was also filed on behalf of the victims and those injured during the racial clashes.
Defendants named in the suit are outgoing Suhakam chairperson Musa Hitam, vice-chairperson Harun Hashim, commissioners Anuar Zainal Abidin, Hamdan Adnan and Mehrun Siraj.
Suhakam acted in bad faith when up until today they failed to condemn the violence in Kampung Medan.
We believe that Suhakam did not abide by the Suhakam Act [which provides for inquiries] and that they have also failed to carry out their duties and responsibilities from the viewpoint of the Federal Constitution in defending human rights in Malaysia, the affidavit read.
Empowered to inquire
Suhakam is empowered under its act to carry out inquiries on its own accord and the Federal Constitution allows for equality before the law.
Six people were killed and hundreds more injured after the economically depressed area of Kampung Medan erupted into racial clashes on March 8 last year.
The fights spread to other neighbourhoods encompassing Taman Datuk Harun, Kampung Lindungan, Taman Medan, Kampung Penaga, Kampung Ghandi and Kampung Muniandy where the population is largely made up of Malays, Indians and migrants from Indonesia and Bangladesh.
The residents are mostly low-income factory workers, labourers and petty business owners.
After the incident, a number of non-governmental organisations and social activists approached Suhakam to probe into the clashes. Among them was Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysias pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar who alleged that the human rights body had failed to carry out its statutory duties.
The commission maintained, however, that its investigators had actually visited the site of the clashes but an open inquiry was out of the question as it involved racial sensitivities.
The commissioners named in the lawsuit were among those that had met with Uthayakumar and NGO officials.
Police not named
The affidavit also criticised the police for failing to contain the violence and allowing chaos to reign for 15 days from March 8, 2001.
The police were however not named as defendants in the suit.
At a press conference held after filing the affidavit, the lawyers lambasted Suhakam for being selective in holding an inquiry.
We have identified 70 cases where Suhakam has acted appropriately but in the case of Kampung Medan they have done nothing. We have exhausted all our diplomatic avenues, Uthayakumar said.
He said five meetings have been held with Suhakam officials, but a request to meet with commissioners on the March 30 this year was ignored.
Subramaniam, the plaintiff in the suit, was also present to speak to reporters after the suit was filed. His forehead still bears the slash scars he suffered in the attacks.
I just want to know what happened, Subramaniam said when asked why he filed the suit.
Lead counsel Manoharan said that the suit would be served on Suhakam today or tomorrow. Uthayakumar and NGOs have been threatening the commission with legal action since last year.
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