July 9 rally: PAS Youth complains to Suhakam

The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) today heard complaints from several members of the public, led by PAS Youth, alleging police brutality during last Saturday’s Bersih 2.0 rally in the federal capital.

Dr Abu Bakar Abdul Rahman, who was on the ground during the rally, told Suhakam commissioners that he witnessed several instances of abuse by the police.

“There was a participant who was chased by the police and kicked... his leg broke, and the police sealed his hands,” he said.

“I begged the police to remove the seal, but the police ignored us. We had to put him in a taxi and send him to the KL Hospital.”

The complaints were made at the Suhakam headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Furnishing the human rights comission with more examples, Abu Bakar said that police had chased and kicked protesters in groups.

“There was another participant in a Bersih T-shirt who was out of breath and sat near the police, he was arrested in a rough manner.

“Someone from behind shouted ‘terrorist’ at the police, who then started to chase everyone and started kicking them,” he said.

Earlier, PAS Youth, led by its chief Nasrudin Hassan, had presented their memorandum to Suhakam deputy chairperson Khaw Lake Tee who was flanked by commissioners Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah and James Nayagam.

The commissioners were briefed by PAS Youth’s legal and human rights division chief Ahmad Zamri Asa’ad Khuzaimi, who complained about police brutality, denial of legal representation and violation of the rights of freedom of religion and assembly.

The PAS Youth legal division is seeking a public inquiry into the events of last Saturday.

Khaw, who accepted the memorandum, said that the commission will look into the matter before deciding on how to proceed.

“We will study what is in the memo and discuss our next course of action. We will also be making a report about what we witnessed on that day, and then we’ll make a complete report and take appropriate action,” she said.

Suhakam had deployed its own observers during the Bersih 2.0 rally last week and its report is expected to be published soon.

Public join in to submit complaints

When Khaw asked if members of the public would like to add on, several others jumped to their feet.

One Bersih participant, who identified himself only as Fais, concurred that his right to freedom of religion was violated.

“At about 12.30pm, zohor time, we found that Masjid Jamek was locked down and we could not do our prayers. Thankfully the management of Masjid India were willing to open their doors to us,” he said.

Lawyer Mazwan Johar also complained that the police wore vests during their operation last Saturday, blocking out their names and police identification numbers, making it difficult for members of the public to identify them.

Commissioner witnessed abuses, too

After hearing the complaints, commissioner Muhammad Sha’ani, who was on the ground during the demonstration, said he too saw the police in action.

“I was there, and I was shocked that the health minister can make such a statement, many of us were in the compound,” he said in reference to the incident in which police allegedly fired tear gas and water cannon into Tung Shin Hospital.

Yesterday, Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai had told the media not to bring up pictures of videos of the incident as the management of Tung Shin Hospital had already denied that tear gas and water cannon were fired into the compound.

The comissioner urged members of he public to come forward with information so that there can be strong grounds for a public inquiry.

“We urge all victims to come forward to make complaints or to tell their experience directly.

“This will strengthen the decision if we want to continue or not (with a public inquiry),” he said.

The Bersih 2.0 rally last week saw tens of thousands of protesters descend on KL to demand for clean and fair elections.

However, the police had attempted to blunt the momentum of the rally, initiating pre-emptive arrests since early morning on protest day.

A total of 1,697 individuals were arrested during the operation and a Bersih supporter, Baharudin Ahmad died, allegedly due to complications from teargas exposure.

However, the police have denied any involvement, saying that Baharudin had died from a heart attack .