Day: November 3, 2015

Gani Patail: Sosma introduced to deal with terrorism

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Source: The Star Online

Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail says Sosma has always been intended for offences against the state and terrorism offences, not to suppress political dissent. – The Malaysian Inider pic by Wan Asraf, November 3, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 was not introduced to suppress political freedoms, says Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.

“Sosma was introduced to deal with terrorism and other security offences. It was not intended to guillotine parliamentary democracy or suppress political freedom,” he said at the Malaysian Bar Council’s “Sosma – Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” forum here.

The former Attorney-General, who read from the Hansard record of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s speech in Parliament when Sosma was tabled, added in his speech at the forum that Sosma was clearly enacted to deal with terrorism and terrorist acts.

“Sosma was drafted for procedural matters. The detention powers are only for investigation purposes,” said Abdul Gani.

He, however, declined to comment on the detention of former Batu Kawan Umno vice-chief Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer Matthias Chang under the Act. Read more →

End repression of women human rights defenders — Joint Action Group for Gender Equality

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

NOVEMBER 3 — Today, one of the leading women human rights defenders in our country was charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012. As current chairperson of the Bersih 2.0 movement, Maria Chin Abdullah’s only “crime” is refusing to be silenced by an arbitrary set of laws set up to curb our rights to freedom of speech, expression, and to assemble – rights which are guaranteed under the Federal Constitution.

Maria is a beacon of hope for many Malaysian both home and abroad. She has been pivotal in encouraging us to speak out in the face of injustice. She gives us the belief that in a democratic nation such as ours, we the people can peacefully demand for institutional reforms, for integrity and for accountability, as is our right as voters in Malaysia. She gave us, the citizens of Malaysia, an avenue for our rights to be heard. It is richly ironic that the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, with its purported intention as stated in its preamble is “to protect the rights and freedoms of other persons”, is being used to try to silence the woman who led one of the largest peaceful assemblies in Malaysian history. Read more →

Weed out the rogue cops – Citizen Nades

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Source: The SunDaily

BY R. NADESWARAN

ON Friday, a nine-page statement from the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) was emailed to the media. It was no ordinary release as it outlined some serious shortcomings in our crime management system.

While previous cases of police brutality and custody deaths were pooh-poohed and brushed away, this time around, it was a comprehensive, detailed and analytical declaration on the death of one Syed Mohd Azlan Syed Mohamed Nur.

Investigations found attempts to get evidence by interrogating the 25-year-old resulted in 61 separate injuries on various parts of his body.

The police officers involved, the statement said, engaged in a “serious breach” of standard operating procedures on handling of detainees, material seizure, and the integrity of statements.

“There was an element of crime in the attacks involving common intent or abetment by police officers, including the arresting team, to use physical violence on the deceased to cause death or injury,” the statement added.

Read with the report by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), the EAIC statement is damning indeed. Read more →

Halt the execution of Kho Jabing ― ADPAN Executive Committee

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

NOVEMBER 3 ― The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) urgently calls on the government of Singapore to halt the impending execution of 31-year-old Sarawakian Kho Jabing, whose application for clemency was rejected by the President of Singapore on October 19.

Kho Jabing was arrested in February 2008 for his participation in a robbery during which he hit a victim with a wooden stick or branch, resulting in the man’s death. He was convicted in 2010 under Section 300c of Singapore’s Penal Code, and his mandatory death sentence was confirmed by the Court of Appeal in 2011. Read more →

Preparing for more rapid deployment of aid

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Source: The Star Online

PETALING JAYA: A more co-ordinated and efficient response to emergency situations is being prepared with placement of essential relief items at the United Nations Response Depot for natural disaster victims locally and across the region.

National Security Council (NSC) deputy secretary Ogu Salim Omar said the Civil Defence Department, Armed Forces, police and all relevant agencies were already preparing for the coming flood season. Read more →