Walk the talk, Hanipa tells Anwar over police cases

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been cautioned that he is being perceived as a leader who excels at making pledges but falls short of delivering them.

Therefore, Mohamed Hanipa Maidin urged the Pakatan Harapan chairperson, who campaigned for more than two decades on the platforms of reforms and justice, to act on cases involving the police.

The former deputy minister overseeing legal affairs during the Harapan administration was commenting on the custodial death of a 25-year-old Orang Asli man in Pahang. 

He also recalled Anwar’s remarks last month about the assault he suffered during incarceration in 1998 and that he needs “no convincing about concerns regarding abuse and deaths in lockups”.

“I know how it feels,” said the prime minister, who promised that his administration is committed to resolving custodial abuses and deaths.

Hanipa, who expressed his gratitude to Anwar for the promise, noted a drawback.

“Unfortunately, many believe the prime minister, with the greatest respect, has been good only at making promises but has been relatively bad in delivering on such promises, 

“Yes, he walks and talks, but more often than not, he fails to walk the talk,” he told Malaysiakini.

‘Govt has failed miserably’

Hanipa stressed that Malaysians are no longer interested in listening to promises but are waiting for their execution.

“After all, we have been hearing and seeing a whole raft of promises coming from him or his government,” he added.

Hanipa also raised the assault of Ong Ing Keong, a hearing-impaired e-hailing driver at the hands of a police escort, which remains unresolved despite the existence of video evidence.

“The government has miserably failed even to resolve a relatively simple criminal justice case, which is to bring the alleged perpetrator who assaulted a vulnerable person to book,” he added.

Previously, Hanipa had questioned Anwar for claiming that certain cases were time-consuming, stating that perhaps the latter considered the case to be more complicated than the 1MDB saga.

On Monday, G25, a group comprising prominent retired civil servants, reiterated its call for justice over the assault, which took place on May 28, and vowed not to let the matter rest until justice is served.

Police’s puzzling silence

As for the case involving the Orang Asli detainee, Hanipa said it is “puzzling” that the deceased’s mother is still waiting for a response from the authorities on what transpired in the lockup.

On Sept 26, Malaysiakini reported Noriah Hitam, 51, claiming she had been denied information on circumstances surrounding the death of her eldest son, Norazman Me.

“He (Norazman) was in the custody of the police, there is CCTV (closed circuit camera), and there was a sentry (supervision of members on duty).

“Wouldn’t they know if my son had attempted ‘suicide’ when he was locked up in the police station area?” she asked.

Norazman, who is a single father of a six-year-old child, was arrested on May 1 in connection with a motorcycle theft. He was found dead in his cell three days later.

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