APRIL 12 – Review the Internal Security Act. Actually, repeal it. Reform the police force. Repair the damage from the “Allah” ban for Christian publications. And implement the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (Siap). That, in a nutshell, is the inbox of the new Home Minister when he takes office this week.
Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein will have to clean up the mess of his predecessors that has given Malaysia’s enforcement agencies unfettered powers to use, or abuse. Among them are police custodial deaths, unconscionable detentions, suspect directives for deportations and others.
And of course, salvage the integrity of the various enforcement agencies seen mostly as bullies or corrupt, or both, by the people at large.
In no small way, their handiwork has contributed to Barisan Nasional’s poor image among the voters who punished the ruling coalition in Election 2008.
In keeping with the slogan formulated by his cousin, prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak and his “One Malaysia, People First, Performance Now”, Hishammuddin will have to ensure people-friendly enforcement agencies and their performance will be his performance.
His Johor Umno colleague and predecessor Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar did not meet the mark although he tried defending a series of missteps by the police, immigration authorities and some divisions within the ministry.
Reviewing the ISA, reforming the police force – particularly their treatment of detainees in various lock-ups – and ensuring human rights are respected should be his priority. Releasing 13 ISA detainees last week, some conditionally, is seen as too little, too late by most people.
The security law that provides detention without trial was meant primarily for combating communist guerrillas in the 1960s but has been conveniently expanded to lock away political opponents, currency forgers and even a nuclear parts middle-man, is seen as an archaic law.
The law has been amended 18 times since it was enacted although first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman said later, “The ISA introduced in 1960 was designed and meant to be used solely against the communists ... my Cabinet colleagues and I gave a solemn promise to Parliament and the nation that the immense powers given to the government under the ISA would never be used to stifle legitimate opposition and silence lawful dissent.”
To his credit, Syed Hamid has proposed only certain police officials should be allowed to detain anyone for up to 60 days without a court order.
But that is not god enough to human rights activists and opposition leaders, who insist that any detention without judicial review is still unjustified.
The death of A. Kugan and the conflicting autopsy reports related to the nature of his demise has deepened the people’s distrust in the authorities.
The latest case of Adi Anwar Mansor drinking thinner, despite being handcuffed while undergoing interrogation, has further exacerbated the distrust.
Too many people have died in lock-ups or during interrogation. So many, in fact, that the police once announced closed-circuit-television cameras would be installed in all police stations. However, many are still without it.
It is understood that the Royal Malaysian Police has received huge allocations, including some off-budget funds, over the past few years but the only sign of that money is a fleet of super-fast patrol cars and motorcycles.
Hishammuddin will also have to look into the short-lived directive to privatise the processing of those who over-stay and send them back home, as exposed by The Malay Mail recently.
This comes on the back of last year’s corruption scandal in the Immigration Department when the director-general, his deputy and several officers were charged with taking bribes from foreigners seeking visas, work permits and social visit pass extensions.
The department records show it detained 216,373 illegal immigrants from 2005 to 2008, 191,583 of whom have been deported.
Most of these illegals were detained with the help of Rela, the volunteer organisation that has also received a fair amount of bad press.
While Siap is toothless to act on wayward enforcement agencies with no power of prosecution, the Semberong MP will have to ensure that all these agencies work for the people and not against the people.
Thus far, the only element that works in the ministry is the issuance of passports. But that is not enough for Malaysians.
There are the other aspects that Hishammuddin, and lawyers like Syed Hamid, has to work on especially in ensuring human rights is respected by the agencies.
After all, his late father Tun Hussein Onn, the country’s third prime minister, helped found the Human Rights Association of Malaysia (Hakam) that has been campaigning for rights since the 1990s.
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