Former police chief Norian Mai told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that the police were able to verify that reformasi activists had attempted to gather explosives and ball bearings in 2001.

 

Norian, who was inspector-general of police from 1999 to 2003, was testifying as a defendant in a defamation suit against him by five former Internal Security Act detainees.

However, he denied that he had specifically meant that the plaintiffs were involved in militant activities, and that his press statement on April 11, 2001, had been misunderstood.

Under cross examination by the plaintiff’s counsel, Razlan Hadri Zulkifli, Norian said that he used the word ‘militant’ to mean the use of violence in general, not military activities alone.

He defined it as “the use of excessive violence that could threaten life or property.”

In denying that his statement was defamatory, he said that his statement was referring to the Reformasi movement as a whole, and not specifically the plaintiffs Saari Sungib, Hishamuddin Rais, Badaruddin Ismail, Badrulamin Baharom, and Chua Tian Chang (also known as Tian Chua), whom were all Reformasi activists.

'Plaintiffs not necessarily militants'

As an example, he cited the Lunas by-election of 2000, where Reformasi activists had allegedly stopped 22 buses that were supposedly carrying phantom voters.

Norian also clarified that his statement did not mean that the seven activists detained under ISA on April 10, 2001 were detained because Reformasi activists were plotting to gather grenade launchers, Molotov cocktails, and ball bearings, or had been recruiting the help of silat instructors, to overthrow the government, as alleged.

“What I said is that we have intelligence that the police needs to verify... the arrests were made to verify (the information,)” he said before the presiding judge, Lau Bee Lan.

“But their arrest does not necessarily mean that they were militants.”

Norian did not correct press reports

He then obliged to a request from Razlan provide examples of the information that the police were able or unable to verify.

However, when asked why the interrogations officers had earlier asking the plaintiffs about ‘militant’ activities in court, Norian said he could not explain this.

The former IGP also testified that he obtained most of his information on the Reformasi movement based on reports and briefings from senior Special Branch officers, but he also had sources outside the police force whom he refused to disclose because it was classified information.

During cross-examination, Norian conceded his statement was partly “suggestive of the (plaintiffs) being involved in militant activities”.

However, he said he did not correct press reports on the matter because, he said, “I am not responsible. It is up to them (the press) to interpret my statement and write headlines,”

The seven detained on April 10, 2000 were Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Chua, Hishamuddin, Saari, N Gobalakrishnan, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, and Abdul Ghani Haroon, in the run up for the Black 14 rally on April 14, to commemorate the fourth anniversary of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s conviction for abuse of power.

Badaruddin and Badrulamin were detained in the weeks following the initial arrests.

Bound by OSA

The suit is a civil trial against Norian, then Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and the government, seeking an unspecified amount of damages, and a court declaration that detentions without trial under Sections 8 and 73 of the ISA are unconstitutional.

During the proceedings, Norian was also asked about his affidavit (sworn statement) written in response of one of the plaintiff’s habeas corpus application for him to be set free.

In his affidavit, he said he could not disclose the exact grounds for the detention because it is secret, otherwise it would threaten national security.

Razlan asked him if the still stands by that position, 11 years after the detentions.

Norian:   I am still bound by the Official Secrets Act.

Razlan: Who can lift this order and let you speak?

Norian: The power is in the (Home) Minister’s hands.

The court would reconvene on May 24 to hear the lawyer’s final submissions.