Malaysiakini :: Letters
Malaysiakini :: Letters |
| Police sexually harassed PSM women detainees Posted: 24 Sep 2011 12:00 AM PDT While we note the attorney general's decision to not proceed with the charges against the PSM 30, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) would like to highlight the appalling treatment accorded to the PSM women who were arrested and detained in relation to the same case. The allegations of abuse made by these women, who had been arrested at the Sungai Dua toll and subsequently detained at the Kepala Batas police station in Penang on 25th of June 2011, have still not been addressed. Three of these women have alleged police misconduct and maltreatment to Suhakam and Bukit Aman. JAG is appalled to learn that in addition to the physical and verbal abuse as well as intimidation that these women underwent, two of them were also subjected to sexual harassment. The women have alleged physical forms of sexual harassment which include having their clothes pulled open to expose parts of their body, being made to remove undergarments and change into lock up clothes in the presence of male police officers and being inappropriately fondled by a woman police officer. In addition to the above, the women have also alleged that they were subjected to sexual innuendos and inappropriate comments during their questioning, including the following: "Awak tidak ada nafsu terhadap mana-mana lelaki? Awak telah adakan seks dengan siapa-siapa kah? Buat seks boleh dapat anak mengapa nak kahwin? You boleh tahan ke tak ada seks dengan suami? Sudah seminggu tiada seks, nanti balik ada seks dengan lelaki nanti beritahu saya apa perasaan kamu semasa buat seks? Pasal kamu lah saya tak boleh [expletive deleted] dengan suami saya, hari-hari saya berada di sini." (Are you attracted to any of the men? Have you had sex with anyone? If you can have children after having sex, why get married? Can you stand not being able to have sex with your husbands? It's been a week without sex, when you go home and have sex, let me know how it feels when you are doing it. Because of you cannot go home to have sex with my husband, every day I have to stay here (to watch over you)) These alleged actions are a clear violation of the basic rights and dignity of the women. Furthermore they show direct police misconduct against the applicable laws on treatment of detainees as stated in the Criminal Procedure Code in Sections 19, 20A and Schedule Four as well as in Rule 44 of the Lock Up Rules 1953. We appreciate that under police detention and investigation, certain lawful actions in handling and interrogating these women may be necessary. However, this does not negate a person's right to fair and decent treatment, irrespective of their social economic background, marital status, ethnicity, religion or the alleged crime. The allegations made by the PSM women raise, once again, serious questions not just about the lack of professionalism but also about the abuse of police powers. The sexual harassment of detainees in any police lock-up is unacceptable. It is not merely conduct unbecoming of police officers, these alleged actions are in themselves criminal acts punishable under the Penal Code. JAG calls for an immediate investigation into these allegations and if proven, action must be taken against the perpetrators. Furthermore JAG calls for regular education and training of police officers on the rights of those being detained. The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) comprises: Women's Centre for Change, (WCC) Penang |
| Hudud hoohah more an MCA-Gerakan sandiwara Posted: 23 Sep 2011 10:46 PM PDT It is a known and incontestable fact that Umno - as the backbone of the BN government - cannot and does not oppose the implementation of hudud in Kelantan. Either Umno is for or against hudud in Kelantan. In all reality, there is no third political option readily open to Umno or the BN. The DPM (PM-in-waiting) says that Malaysia is not yet ready for hudud. He would not say that Kelantan is not ready. Is there any veritable Umno member or leader who has stood, or will stand, up to say that Kelantan is not 'ready' for hudud? No, not even our sometimes-rambunctious minister Nazri Aziz. Hence, the MCA and Gerakan should immediately follow up on their threats to divorce Umno. Leave the Barisan now. Otherwise, they risk looking like battered wives who would make daily threats to leave their wife-beating husbands and yet never do. Umno cannot and does not oppose hudud in Kelantan. How is that different from the PAS stand? Can PAS single-handedly realise hudud in Kelantan without Umno? Can it ever be said that either the MCA and/or Gerakan is as equal a partner to Umno in Barisan as is PAS to PKR or the DAP in Pakatan? Will the MCA or Gerakan, given their 50-year-old unbroken record of obedience to Umno, end up playing an even greater vicarious role in the realisation of hudud in Kelantan than either PKR or the DAP ever will? Having made such public threats against Umno, the MCA and Gerakan will no doubt find themselves in a real Malaysian political anomaly. Pakatan, vis-à-vis its de facto chairman Anwar Ibrahim, also does not oppose hudud in Kelantan. Thus, if and when the MCA and Gerakan do carry out their threats to leave the Barisan, they obviously cannot - upon the same stated principle - embrace Pakatan as well. In the light of this possible anomaly, perhaps it might be (or would have been) better for the MCA and Gerakan to keep still and be silent like the MIC and PPP (or the PBS in Sabah or Kita in God-knows-where). At least the MIC and PPP know their humble fates and little destinies. Unless, of course, the MCA and Gerakan believe that they are big enough and can somehow survive outside Barisan or Pakatan. They can try. That is if they can get along with each other in the first place. Perchance - in all this entertaining brouhaha - the political instigators and agitators par excellence from Perkasa are right for once after all. That it is all a 'sandiwara' or 'wayang kulit' (the local equivalent for which in Penang would be a screaming session of 'Hokkien Pahn' or 'Teowchew Pahn' with masks, costumes, painted faces and the attending vocal melodies.) |
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