NGOs to hold solidarity forum in protest of Beng Hock NFA

Summary

• Two civil society groups will hold a public forum on June 3 to protest the police’s decision to close the investigation into Teoh Beng Hock’s death.

• The groups are urging the public to attend and demand truth and justice from the government.

• The groups also criticise Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for his silence on the matter since the case’s closure was announced.

Two civil society groups will hold a public forum next week in response to the police’s decision to close investigations into Teoh Beng Hock’s death without further action.

In a joint statement issued today, the Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement and the Civil Rights Committee of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall announced that the two organisations will jointly organise a public forum titled “Solidarity with Teoh Beng Hock and His Family” on Tuesday, June 3, at 8pm.

The event will take place at the upstairs auditorium hall of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

“We urge the public to attend in large numbers, to protest the ‘no further action’ conclusion, and to demand truth and justice from the government,” said the groups’ chairpersons Ng Yap Hwa and Liau Kok Fah.

They also expressed deep disappointment over the decision, accusing the authorities of double standards and shielding those responsible.

‘Anwar’s silence a great disappointment’

Further, Ng and Liau criticised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for remaining silent on the matter since police announced the case’s closure on May 20.

“Teoh’s family immediately criticised the prime minister for breaking his promise. Over the past 10 days, Anwar has remained completely silent, which greatly disappoints us,” they said.

On May 22, Teoh Lee Lan, Beng Hock’s sister, said the NFA decision does not reflect promises previously made by Anwar.

Teoh, a political aide to a Selangor executive councillor, was found dead on July 16, 2009, after falling from the 14th floor of the Selangor MACC office in Shah Alam. He had been interrogated overnight as a witness in a corruption probe.

Post-mortem findings and a Court of Appeal decision in 2014 indicated that Teoh had suffered pre-fall injuries to the neck and that there were elements of criminality in the case.

Despite this, the two groups said, no MACC officers have been held accountable to date.

“This is why Teoh’s family has condemned the authorities for shielding each other and applying double standards.

“The case exposes the dysfunction of the criminal justice system. A culture of impunity permeates these abusive government agencies. Upholding the rule of law has become an empty slogan,” they said.

They added that Anwar’s silence was “an act of evasion - and a betrayal of the reform agenda”.

Other than Lee Lan, speakers scheduled to be a part of the forum include Bersih chairperson Faisal Aziz, Amnesty International Malaysia interim executive director V Vilasini, Komas director Jerald Joseph, and Sisters in Islam executive director Rozana Isa.

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