The Selangor legislative assembly, on the final day of its sitting today, approved a motion calling for a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock.

NONE In debating the motion by Ng Swee Lim (DAP-Sekinchan), Hannah Yeoh (DAP-Subang) brought a sombre mood to the proceedings with her impassioned speech.

“I still remember when I first received the news of his death, and I saw his photo on the Malaysiakini website,” she said, with tears in her eyes.

“I felt numb and dead inside. I could not swallow the fact that he had gone, as I had met him just the day before. Many realised that it could have been any of us.”

Although an inquest is underway, she said a royal commission of inquiry would be the only way for his family to get justice.

“Five months have passed since Teoh’s death and his family is still having a hard time accepting the fact that their beloved son has gone.

“His mother once told me that Teoh was the family’s only hope. The family spent so much to make sure he earned a degree and got a good career.”

She said Teoh had a ‘close relationship’ with his mother and never failed to call her every morning and evening just to ask after her.

‘“His mother said there is no way Teoh would take his own life because he had told her that his fianceé would deliver a baby in February (2010), during the Chinese New Year.

Family's difficulties

azlan Yeoh said Teoh’s brother and sister have had to travel back and forth to Shah Alam from their hometown in Malacca to attend the inquest.

“They have taken 60 days off (from work). His sister was forced to take unpaid leave to attend the inquest. This has definitely affected the family’s income,” she said.

Teoh, the 30-year-old political assistant to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was summoned to the Selangor headquarters of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on July 15.

He was questioned as a witness on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam, where the office is located, over alleged irregularities in the use of state funds by his employer.

Teoh was found dead the following day on the fifth floor service corridor of the building.

Public pressure forced the federal government to call for an inquest to investigate the cause of his death, with a royal panel to be set up later to look into MACC’s interrogation techniques.

There is still much unhappiness in many quarters, which have urged the government to set up a royal panel to investigate Teoh’s death.