Call for Suhakam cover at DAP campaign

comments     Beh Lih Yi     Published     Updated

DAP Youth today asked the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) for help to prevent any further "abuse of police powers" during events organised in conjunction with the party's awareness campaign on the Islamic state.

The youth wing acting national secretary-general Loke Siew Fook (photo) led a delegation of 15 to the commission's office in Kuala Lumpur today, to submit a memorandum of protest as well as to request the presence of a human rights commissioner at this Sunday's campaign.

Batu Gajah member of parliament Fong Po Kuan was in the delegation, which was following up on police action against 17 party leaders and members last Sunday at the Bentong wet market in Pahang.

Thirteen members of the group were taken into custody for distributing leaflets and selling books under the "No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957" campaign.

They had their statements recorded by the police and were released on police bail, with orders to report to the station again on Oct 4.

Among those arrested were Fong and her father, her special assistant Lim Pek Har, Pahang DAP chairperson Lee Tak Chee, state organising secretary Choong Siew Onn and party publicity secretary Ronnie Liu's spouse Lim Soon Yee.

Loke said party chairperson Lim Kit Siang would lead a delegation to the Bentong wet market again on Sunday to continue with the campaign. He hoped that a Suhakam commissioner would be present.

"Those arrested were political activists who were carrying out a political campaign. The police should not disrupt a legitimate political activity," he said.

'No grounds'

Loke claimed that the police used handcuffs on two of the party members who were arrested, while everyone in the group was photographed and finger-printed. This, he said, amounted to harassment because they had not been informed of their alleged offence.

"They were only told about three hours after their arrest that the police were acting under section 4 of the Sedition Act," he said.

"If the "No to 929" leaflets are seditious, then the police should have charged Lim Kit Siang because he has been arrested twice already for distributing the leaflets."

Since Lim has not been charged, Loke said that the police have no grounds to stop the party's campaign or to arrest other leaders and members involved.

Suhakam considers response

Loke also urged the commission to conduct an inquiry into abuse of police power in relation to the arrests, saying that the basic rights of the leaders and members of a legitimate political party had been violated when they were stopped from carrying out their activities.

Suhakam secretary Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria (second from left in photo), who received the memorandum, said he would fax a copy of the protest letter to commission chairperson Abu Talib Othman and ask for his opinion and permission to send a commissioner as requested.

"I cannot make any comment, but I will talk to him as soon as possible," Kamaruddin said.

He further said the commission wrote to Ipoh police a week after DAP Perak chief Ngeh Koo Ham lodged a complaint in June. The commission is awaiting a reply.

Ngeh had said that Lim Kit Siang's arrest in Ipoh on June 5 was "false, wrongful and unlawful". Lim was arrested again in Port Dickson on July 21 in connection with the same campaign.

DAP has been going on an active campaign to protest against Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state on Sept 29 last year.

The campaign is intended to defend and uphold the 1957 Merdeka Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion, while maintaining Islam as the official religion.



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