UMS group urges Tawau solidarity, claims peer kept in prolonged probe

Summary

• A UMS student group has condemned police in Tawau for allegedly detaining one of its undergraduates for over five hours.

• The Suara Mahasiswa UMS group alleges that the student is being pressured to give a cautioned statement, describing it as intimidation against outspoken students.

A Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student group has called on Tawau residents to gather in solidarity outside the district police headquarters, urging the immediate release of a UMS undergraduate who has been held since this afternoon.

The Suara Mahasiswa UMS group has issued a statement strongly condemning the police for allegedly holding the student, identified only as Aliefah, in questioning for more than five hours.

According to the group, Aliefah had already given a statement to the police, in the presence of three witnesses, with her signature affixed as a sign of completion.

However, the group claimed that the police then demanded a follow-up intelligible statement or formal statement from Aliefah, despite no existing legal provisions allowing them to pursue such actions.

An intelligible statement is a formal statement recorded by police after cautioning someone, where the person is informed that they are not obliged to answer, but whatever they say may be used as evidence in court.

“After Aliefah refused the intelligible statement request, the police called upon the Tawau Special Branch officials to take over the investigation.

“Aliefah is now being held alone without a lawyer and is surrounded by a large number of Special Branch police officials. This action is clearly giving serious mental distress, and is a violation of her fundamental rights,” the group claimed.

They lamented that the alleged actions by police appeared to be an attempt to intimidate students and members of the public who continue to speak out on social issues.

Arrest criticised

Earlier, the group criticised the alleged arrest of its members under the Sedition Act 1948, after they attended a vigil for 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, whose death was linked to bullying.

The group emphasised that the vigil was meant as a space for mourning and solidarity, and not a crime, and condemned political parties that purportedly "exploited this tragedy to portray themselves as guardians of security.”

Later, another student group, Federasi Pemuda Kebangsaan, also issued a statement condemning the actions of the police and calling for Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail's resignation, following the incident.

They accused the police probe into the student activists as an abuse of power, and urged an immediate investigation against the officials involved, and demanded an explanation on why the special branch officials were involved in probing students, describing these actions as beyond their official jurisdiction

The group also urged an immediate end to police intimidation and for all parties to respect the legal rights of students to freely express themselves without harassment and disruption.

On Aug 31, Kota Kinabalu's city centre ground to a near standstill as Sabah hosted its National Day parade and the Sabah Day celebrations, while the “Justice for Zara 2.0” rally took place simultaneously.

Tawau police chief Jasmin Hussin later said they received three police reports today concerning an individual who allegedly made seditious remarks against the Sabah governor, Musa Aman, during the rally.

The case is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Section 506 of the Penal Code, Section 505(b) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Zara’s death

Zara, a student from Papar, died on July 17, following what was described as months of alleged bullying.

Her death has triggered nationwide grief and anger, while the public’s criticism of the authorities’ response to her case has led to wider concerns being raised over institutional neglect.

The inquest into the death of the Form One student will begin tomorrow at the Coroner’s Court in Kota Kinabalu.

The hearing will be presided over by Sessions Court judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan, who will be acting as the coroner.

Seventy witnesses are expected, including the pathologist who conducted the post-mortem.

The 19-day proceedings are scheduled for Sept 3 and 4, Sept 8 to 12, Sept 17 to 19 and Sept 22 to 30.

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