Beng Hock group cites Confucian saying, sits out 'Turun Anwar' rally

Summary

• Beng Hock’s family will not attend the “Turun Anwar” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

• Ng says will not align with forces with different ideals and play racial politics.

The family of Teoh Beng Hock will not be attending this Saturday’s “Himpunan Turun Anwar” protest in Kuala Lumpur, despite having recently been openly critical of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Madani government.

When contacted, Beng Hock’s sister, Lee Lan (above), confirmed that she would not be attending the rally organised by PAS and Perikatan Nasional.

Ng Yap Hwa, chairperson of Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-ADA), cited a saying from the Confucian Analects to explain their stance.

“Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one another.

“We will not align ourselves with political forces that have different ideals from us and play racial politics,” he said.

Ng added that TBH-ADA has always been committed to building a Malaysian society free of torture, that respects human rights, and upholds democracy and inclusiveness.

“Although we are committed to pursuing our movement’s goals, we will never resort to unscrupulous means to achieve them.

“We will continue our struggle based on principles and ideals,” the activist told Malaysiakini.

‘Absurd’ to come for family’s support

In a Facebook post later, Lee Lan confirmed receiving an invitation from the organisers to attend Saturday’s protest and echoed Ng’s statements.

She also condemned Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin for allegedly mistreating the family for more than three years during the latter’s term as home minister and prime minister, and it is “absurd” for him to come for the family’s support.

During this period, she said the police continued to investigate her brother’s death as suicide rather than homicide, while Muhyiddin had claimed the family had “continued to demand more” after receiving compensation.

“The pain of those wounds still lingers, and the harm is still vivid in our memories. How could one shamelessly forget all that and suddenly invite us to this event?

“Muhyiddin not only slandered the Teoh family as being greedy for money, ignoring the fact that the police have failed to arrest the culprits for 16 years, but also blatantly lied by claiming that all legal avenues in the Beng Hock case had been exhausted - forcing the Teoh family to seek judicial review of the police investigation,” she wrote, adding that the court has ultimately vindicated the family position.

Muhyiddin had said in 2019 that his remarks were misunderstood, though Lee Lan noted in her post that the former has yet to apologise for his statement and the harm it has caused.

NFA and the recent row

In 2009, Beng Hock, who was then-Seri Kembangan assemblyperson Ean Yong Hian Wah’s aide, was found dead after overnight questioning at Selangor MACC, which was at the time headquartered at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.

A 2011 royal commission of inquiry (RCI) ruled that he was driven to suicide due to aggressive interrogation. However, in 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled his death was caused or accelerated by unlawful acts, including those of MACC officers.

On Nov 21 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the police to complete the investigation into Beng Hock’s death within six months.

In May, however, the Attorney-General’s Chambers ultimately classified the case as no further action.

Following this, the family has been critical of the government, particularly Anwar and DAP, for failing to fulfil their promises to deliver justice for them.

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