There are often topics I flag to myself, promising to blog about later. Time to do some long due catching up.
I guess we should never stop trying to remember the less highlighted suffering of the less known.
Now, imagine if your teenage kids were detained without trial and placed among what the police – rightly or wrongly – think are the most hardcore criminals in Malaysia. From early March:
Three teenagers are being detained without trial at the Simpang Renggam detention centre under the Emergency Ordinance 1969, and their family members are crying foul.
Accompanied by representatives of human rights group Suaram, the relatives of the detainees took their case to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) today, pleading for intervention.
“Please help me to bring back my son. He is a good boy and I want him to be successful in his studies,” said M Gowri, 42, who was among the 15 relatives present.
According to Suaram’s memorandum to Suhakam, the trio from Semenyih, aged between 15 and 17, are supposed to sit for PMR and SPM examinations this year.
So, our grand police figured that these two kids posed such a threat to public order, that they had to invoke the Emergency Ordinance – a draconian law which allows detention without trial for individuals for which there is insufficient proof of criminality to arrest normally, but who the police are ’sure’ are criminals :P
This is blatantly unjust as it is – and gives the police one of its many powers that they can abuse without any check or balance whatsoever. It completely sidesteps the rule of law and idea of due process, just like the ISA.
All that is bad enough. Now imagine it happening to young kids waiting to sit for their PMR and SPM >:(
Suaram director S Arutchelvan said the detentions were violations of
Article 16 (1) and (11) of the Federal Constitution, Article 42 of the Child Act 2001 and Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“We would like to urge the government to take immediate action and release the teenagers. They are supposed to be sitting for major examinations this year and the detention would affect their future,” said Arutchelvan.
Addressing the family members and Suaram later, Siva Subramaniam hoped that the authorities would not place the teenagers in the Simpang Renggam detention centre, noting that it is a place where many “serious criminals” are being held.
The detention order is supposed to have expired March 9th, I’ll try to get an update of what the situation is, and put it at the top of this post when I learn.
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I also wanted to put a quick point to this case from way back, where good people try to stop bad things from happening:
Police held Terengganu PKR Youth Chief Fariz Musa was for more than four hours today, for allegedly obstructing the demolition of squatter houses in Kampung Paya Bunga, Kuala Terengganu.
Released on police bail at 3.20pm, he is being investigated under Section 186 of the Penal Code.
Also arrested was the owner of one of the 12 houses that were torn down around 11am.
Fariz (left) said the operation, which began early this morning, was carried out by 60 enforcement officers comprising the police, land office and the local council.
“The authorities demolished all the houses before the families could even move out their belongings,” he claimed when contacted.
Ten houses were being still occupied, and five families are currently homeless, he said.
The residents, all low-income earners, have been occupying the land and paying rent since 1934. They had obtained temporary residential licences.
“Most of them live below the poverty line and receive financial aid from the Welfare Department,” said Fariz.
“They were asked by the land office to vacate their homes by last Sunday, failing which they would be fined RM50,000 and jailed for five years.”
The residents had sent a memorandum to Menteri Besar Ahmad Said (right) on Feb 21, to request that the demolition exercise be deferred. Also ignored was their request for compensation.
The MB offered to assist them with moving their belongings instead. They were offered low-cost housing units, but the residents were required to pay a deposit of RM3,000, which is beyond their means.
“The low-cost housing is located 20km from Kuala Terengganu and is very far from their places of work,” Fariz added.
The land that they have been occupying is to be used to build a multilevel car park.
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