LAWYERS TURN UP IN PARLIAMENT TO SUPPORT MOTION PROTESTING MALTREATMENT OF LAWYERS BY POLICE

LAWYERS TURN UP IN PARLIAMENT TO SUPPORT MOTION PROTESTING MALTREATMENT OF
LAWYERS BY THE POLICE.

Today, the 10th of May 2006, about 25 lawyers turned up in Parliament in support of an emergency motion put in by member of the Bar and Member of Parliament for Ipoh Barat, Mr M. Kulasegaran over the harassment, arrest and detention of lawyer s. Balasubramaniam. The motion also referred to incidents involving other lawyers like P. Uthayakumar, Leonard Teoh, Zainur Zakaria and Cheah Kah Peng.

Kula’s motion also highlighted the plight of Kuala Lumpur lawyer Rajasingam, who was arrested on 1/3/2006, for allegedly using his handphone whilst driving. Rajasingam said that he was handcuffed and then beaten by police. He was then charged under the Road Transport Act for refusing to give in to their unreasonable demand that he produce a urine sample. After being charged in court and released on bail, he was immediately re-arrested allegedly for intimidating the police.

This morning at about 10.00am, despite the seriousness of the issue, the Speaker rejected Kula’s emergency motion without calling the matter up for debate.

Later, at about 1pm, M. Kulasegaran called for a press conference which was attended by the lawyers present. Mr Karpal Singh, Ms Teresa Kok and Wan Azizah were some of the other members of parliament present. Ms Ambiga Sreenevasan, the Vice President of the Malaysian Bar, also spoke. Thereafter, Rajasingam, S. Balasubramaniam and P. Uthayakumar also narrated their shocking treatment by the police.

Amongst the lawyers present was Mr George Varughese (the Selangor Bar Chair), Mr Lim Chee Wee (the Kuala Lumpur Bar Chair), Ms Chee Swee Yoke, Mr N. Surendran, Mr Annou Xavier, Rashid, Cik Latheefah Koya, Mr Richard Wee, Mr Rajpal Singh, Mr Sivarasa Rasiah, Mr Ravindra Kumar, Mr Colin Pereira, Mr Ragunath Kesavan, Mr Edmund Bon, Mr Puravalen and Charles Hector.

This was yet another great day for the Malaysian Bar when once again lawyers turned up in numbers during a working day on very short notice to show support for the plight of fellow lawyers who had been harassed, beaten, arrested and/or detained by the police.

It all started on 27th April 2006 with the handing over of a memorandum of protest to the Petaling Jaya OCPD by about 40 lawyers over the manner in which lawyer S. Balasubramaniam was harrased, arrested and detained by the police on 18th April 2006 at this police station when he was there carrying out his duties as a lawyer. Bala was arrested, deprived of his identity card and was detained for about 3 hours before being released.

On 2nd May, the Selangor Bar and Kuala Lumpur Bar representatives met with the Chief Police Officer of Selangor.

The Malaysian Bar Chairperson, Mr Yeo Yang Poh has written a letter to the Inspector General of Police seeking an urgent meeting with the IGP to raise this matter, but to date, even after a reminder letter, the IGP has yet to set a date for this meeting, let alone respond to the President. This omission and failing on the part of the IGP is inexcusable and totally disrespectful to the President and the Malaysian Bar. Lawyers are very disturbed over this state of affairs. Lawyers want the meeting between the President of the Bar and the IGP to take place very soon, and this was one of the issues raised by the Vice President at the Dewan Rakyat press conference today.

This concerns rights of a lawyer to carry out his duties to the lay client without police interference and intimidation. We must not tolerate or accept a violation of this right which is fundamental to the cause of justice.

If the IGP is not willing to meet up with the President of the Bar, then this matter must be taken up to the Minister or the Prime Minister.

The attitude and behaviour of the Malaysian police further emphasizes the immediate need for the setting up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Charles Hector
10th May 2006