Was Malaysia 'silent' because it was the US in the case of the 2 Malaysians in Guantanamo?

2 Malaysians overseas arrested by the US and detained at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Worse still - they were apparently arrested in Thailand and Cambodia, 2 member nations of ASEAN. How could Malaysia sit by silently? If 2 US citizens were  in, say Thailand, and  were arrested and detained by the Malaysian government under the ISA, for example, would the US government allow this to be done. I do not think so. Malaysia should also not have sat by silently - and should safeguard all its citizens - be they in the country and/or in some other country. I do hope the government clarifies matters and justifies their reason for allowing these 2 Malaysians to languish in detention under the US.

If two Malaysians commit a crime in US, AND gets arrested in the US, and thereafter charged and tried, it is a different matter - but in this case the 2 were arrested not in the US.

Malaysia must demand the safe return of two citizens detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay, if it does not want to be seen as failing to uphold its rights as a sovereign nation.

Human rights lawyer Charles Hector (left) said it is the country's “duty” to its citizens to follow up on such cases, especially since the two - suspected terrorists Mohamad Nazir Lep and Mohd Farik Amin - were not arrested on American soil.

“Malaysia should be condemned for not following up on the two there. If it were any other country, they would be jumping up and down if their citizens were detained by another country,” he said when contacted today.

Charles said the detention of the duo in the anti-terrorism facility should not be allowed as they were not arrested for crimes committed in the US.

Based on leaked US government documents posted on Wikileaks, Mohamad Nazir was arrested in Thailand while Mohd Farik (right) was caught in Cambodia in 2003. 

 

The duo were transferred to Guantanamo Bay on Sept 4, 2006, based on allegations that they had been plotting a similar attack as the Sept 11, 2001 tragedy in New York, but this time in Los Angeles.

Charles pointed out that, as with any country, the US is entitled to charge any individual for a crime committed on its territory but stressed that taking custody of individuals caught in another country is a different matter altogether.

Malaysia can leverage on the fact that, despite detaining a group of foreigners under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last year, they were deported to their respective countries to be tried in a court of law, he said.

“They should be sent back to Malaysia and tried under Malaysian law. They were caught in Asean countries... the US should recognise not only Asean but also the sovereignty of Malaysia,” he said.

“I'm sure the US has no jurisdiction in Cambodia or Thailand. This is (Malaysia's) duty to the citizens. If Malaysia allows the US to do this, it is as if Malaysia is not standing up for its sovereignty.”

'Fair, open trial needed'

Human rights NGO Suaram also weighed in, saying the main issue is to have a “fair and open trial” for the duo, instead of leaving them to languish among more than 700 people being held in the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba.

Coordinator P Nalini said that, from the time the NGO found out about the detention of the duo in 2006, it has constantly called on the government to bring them back to face trial here, or at least to push the US to conduct a trial there.

She pointed out, however, that the continued existence of the ISA gives Malaysia fewer grounds to demand that they be extradited.

Suaram said it believes that a trial, regardless of where it is conducted, is a more realistic aim for the sake of Mohamad Nazir and Mohd Farik.

“If a trial (can't be held) in the US, send them back here. So long as there is no fair and open trial, we won't get the truth.”

Suaram has been unable to locate the families of the two detainees despite numerous attempts. It only knows that one of them is from Johor. - Malaysiakini, 27/4/2011, 'M'sia letting US trample on sovereignty'

Why release 13 from ISA? Mistake..or belief that they have been 'sufficiently punished' - Tell us, Mr PM

In the first no one should be subjected to Detention Without Trial, i.e. arrest and detention under the ISA and other laws that allow for Detention Without Trial. Today, there maybe over thousand persons detained without trial, and under the ISA there were 46 as at December 2008. In fact, as of June 2008 there were 62 - meaning that old PM released 16 during that period, so what is the big deal about Najib releasing only 13. (see Aliran's ISA Watch page)

In his first address to the nation as prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak said the government has freed 13 Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees and lifted the ban on two opposition publications.

MCPX

"I would like to announce that the government has decided with immediate effect to remove the temporary ban on two news publications, release 13 detainees from ISA detention, and conduct a comprehensive review of the Internal Security Act," he said in his first act after taking office today.

"These decisions are timely as we move to enhance the confidence of our citizens in those entrusted with maintaining peace, law and order," he said. - Malaysiakini, 3/4/2008, 13 ISA freed, ban lifted on party organs

So, ALL ISA and Detention Without Trial persons need to be immediately released.. and like Guantanamo Bay, Kamunting Detention Centre and other Detention Without Trial Centres need to be closed down immediately.

REVOKE THE SUSPENSION of Harakah and Suara Keadilan --- mmm...this looks staged. Just a few weeks before for no apparent reason, the suspension is invoked. Was it done so that Najib could revoke it like a 'good guy' new Prime Minister...

There is no need to have any 'comprehensive review of the Internal Security Act' - just repeal the Act, and all other Acts that allow for Detention Without Trial. There are sufficient laws in Malaysia already. Remember that 'planning' or 'even preparing' for the commission of any offence is already a criminal offence in Malaysian law.

Today, the ISA and other Detention Without Trial laws DO NOT allow the questioning of the validity of the reasons for the Detention Order, and that is so very wrong. It means that good Minister can give any 'cock and bull' reason - and it cannot even be reviewed by the court.

Released from ISA - will there be any compensation given to them and their families? Nothing at all, and that is the evil of these Detention Without Trial Laws of Malaysia.

Will the names of those wrongly detained under the ISA and other Detention Without Trial be cleared? Can they now sue the Minister...the Government of Malaysia for defamation...to clear their name? Maybe they should try ...and maybe even seek a Declaration that their detention was wrong...

I take it that the release of persons under Detention Without Trial laws is an ADMISSION by the Government that they were never 'guilty' and their entire Detention was wrong. If not, they would have been charged, tried and found guilty.

I believe that many of these Detention of persons allegedly being a member of JI (Jemaah Islam), KMM, or Darul Islam is all 'bullshit' - more likely these innocent persons were just incarcerated because Malaysia wanted to show the world (not the world but maybe the US under Bush..) that Malaysia was also strong against 'terrorism' - even Islamic terrorist. If it is not so, then charge all those persons in court and prove that they were guilty of some wrong.

If Najib wants to do something good - then release them all immediately and go for the repeal of the ISA and all Detention Without Trial Laws. No need to review...

Why are you releasing 2 from the HINDRAF 5? Did you make a mistake in the 1st place? Do you now feel that the 2 have been 'sufficiently punished' for their wrongs but not the other 3? Explain Mr Home Minister the reasons for your release? Mistake...or because they have been punished enough..tell us. Is this not discrimination against the remaining 3 - unless the release was an admission of a mistake.

It was also very wrong to delay the release - for it seems the decision to release was made earlier, and it was delayed so that it could be announced by new PM when he made his speech. When Mr Home Minister did you decide to release them? Were you ordered by new PM to release them? Tell us....be open and honest..

Immediately after Najib's address, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar announced the names of the 13 ISA detainees to be freed.

They include two of the Hindraf 5 - V Ganabatirau and R Kenghadharan - both of whom have been incarcerated for 15 months.

The others released are eight members of the Darul Islam movement and three foreigners.

The Home Ministry, as of December last year, said it was holding 46 people under the ISA, the majority of whom belong to militant groups like the Jemaah Islamiah and the Darul Islam movement. - Malaysiakini, 3/4/2008, 13 ISA freed, ban lifted on party organs

They are human beings, and they deserve to be treated as such...

Just something, I saw in the Malay Mail that I wanted to share with you all...

We sometime treat them as though they are not human beings...

We must have laws that define minimum standards for accommodation for migrant workers.

But it is a monstrous act of barbarism to force some 100 people, regardless of their origin or legal status, into a 1,000 sq ft shophouse unit only to release them when their manual strength is required for work we ourselves are too lazy, or too dainty, to do ourselves.

Migrant workers must never be deprived of their passports - because the inability to show the police, immigration enforcement officer and/or that RELA person is the main reason why they sometimes unnecessarily get arrested and end up for weeks...sometimes months in detention centres...See also earlier post about just one such case ...Illegal for employers to hold Migrant Worker's passports..

Let's not forget that it also did happen to our Malaysian pregnant woman, M. Rajeshvari too...who was there in detention for 11+ months.Pregnant Malaysian mum wrongfully detained in Migrant Detention Centre for 11+ months

They may look different - talk differently ...but let's not forget that they are human beings too...

Our national borders are porous and for many years those living in countries less fortunate than ours have sought, by hook or crook, to make better futures here.

Whether they enter Malaysia legally or not, migrant workers are entitled to the same basic human rights as anyone else. While we may debate the fitness of extending legal protection
to those who by virtue of being in this country have already broken immigration laws, even illegal immigrants are entitled to one basic right:

To be treated as human. Unfortunately there exists a “grey” labour market in which immigrants are literally enslaved in the service of those who have no scruples.

These individuals enter our country legally, either as bona fide workers or under the cover of being a student, or something else, but what do we know of what happens after they arrive?

What do we know of the companies that employ them?

Our recent reports uncovered a sight so appalling that few are prepared to believe
Malaysians, with all their relative wealth and reputed friendliness, could be capable of such crimes against humanity.

It is a crime to deprive a person of his or her passport unless it is ordered thus by a court of law. It is a crime to deprive anyone of medical attention they might need.

Unless by operation of law, it is a crime to place even a single person in a flat under lock and key against his or her will.

But it is a monstrous act of barbarism to force some 100 people, regardless of their origin or legal status, into a 1,000 sq ft shophouse unit only to release them when their manual strength
is required for work we ourselves are too lazy, or too dainty, to do ourselves.

And yet this is precisely what has been claimed of a shophouse in Bandar Sri Damansara where around 100 Bangladeshi workers were found living in conditions none can describe in any
way to meet basic human or humanitarian standards. Those responsible have claimed that the workers had been retrenched, and that the “hostel” was only a halfway house where they awaited the renewal of their work permits.

Perhaps this is true. However, some workers claim, among other things, to have been deprived of their passports, and one says he paid RM12,000 for a job in Malaysia, only to have remained unemployed in the four months he has been here.

This too might be true. Our course is clear: We must first of all remove these workers from their present circumstances and the authorities must establish the truth of the matter and take
the appropriate actions.

The simple solution would be to repatriate these workers to their home countries as soon as possible. To be sure, costs will be incurred by those who employed them in the first place, but surely the value of human life and dignity must not be measured by the dull weight of mere
lucre?

Do we not act well enough to condemn atrocities in Palestine and elsewhere?

Do we move sluggishly to mobilise aid for those deprived by natural disaster of food, shelter
and sources of income? So why then do we treat as invisible those by whose blood and sweat we build our country?

Why then do we treat people — men and women of flesh and blood that bleeds red the same as ours — as animals fit only for a cage? How dare we? A deputy minister has visited the two-bedroom flat, but to date no official action has been taken.

Thanks to the good graces of a nongovernmental organisation, help is on the way, but the
core issue has not yet been addressed.

We have laws in this country, do we not? So why don't we enforce them? - Malay Mail, 18/2/2009, Free these 'prisoners' of convenience

Rajeshvari Scandal : PM need assure us no other cases like this...

If you ask me now, what is my NRIC number - I will not able to recite it from memory - I need to look at it. It is now a 12-digit number. Previously, the old NRIC number was only 7 numbers.

So, not knowing the NRIC number is no justification for arresting some 6-month pregnant women having coffee in a coffee-shop in Brickfirelds and thereafter sending her to some detention camp for undocumented migrants.

From the initial report, I thought that this woman had difficulty communicating in Bahasa Malaysia - but alas she could speak BM. She did tell them her address, her previous school,etc -- "but they did not believe her..." WHY?

As one: Rajeshvari holding her temporary IC as her mother Parameswari and her sister Vigneswari who is holding Logekali look on. - Star, 10/9/2008 -Rajeshvari and son meet her mother and sister

Now, even if she could not speak Bahasa Malaysia, then surely there should have been interpreters available - not just at the police station, but also at the courts and the Immigration Detention Centress.

I wonder what would have been happened if she was disabled - not having the capacity to speak... (or even communicate...)

Rajeshvari, who was six-months pregnant then, was detained by a police party while waiting for a relative at a coffee shop in Brickfields last October.

They had mistaken her for a Sri Lankan immigrant despite her repeated pleas that she was a local. She gave birth to a boy, Logekali, while in detention.

“I know it’s my fault that I could not produce or remember my IC number but I did give the officers my address and school’s name only to be told that these did not exist,” she said.

She claimed she told them this several times in Bahasa Malaysia but they did not believe her.

“I was never a bright student and left school at 13 but I can still converse in basic Bahasa,” Rajeshvari added. - Star, 10/9/2008 -Rajeshvari and son meet her mother and sister

Come now, good guy Malaysian Indian Youth Council vice-president Andrew Raju (this is not MIC) could so easily verify the fact that she was indeed a citizen - and get her release recently. She got arrested 6-months pregnant, and when she came out she was with 10-month old baby boy.

Rajeshvari was released from the depot in Seremban on Friday after Malaysian Indian Youth Council vice-president Andrew Raju got her birth certificate details from her primary school in Kampar.- Star, 8/9/2008- Suhakam raps Immigration

It is baffling that a non-governmental organisation took only one day to verify that a suspected illegal immigrant was Malaysian when the arresting authority could not.

“They had her for a total of 11 months and they were unable to verify her claim that Rajeshvary Murugiah was a Malaysian.

“Unlike them, Andrew (Raju of the Malaysian Indian Youth Coun­cil) who met her at the clinic after she fell ill was able to confirm she was Malaysian by going to the Re­gistration Department,” said Su­­hakam commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam when contacted. - Star, 11/9/2008 -Inability to establish Rajeshvari ID baffling

At, the end of the day, it really goes down to attitude - and this "do not care" attitude of public servants and the courts is shocking. There must be a thorough investigations, and disciplinary actions must be taken against all those responsible.

I am shocked with the attitude of the Immigration Department enforcement chief Datuk Ishak Mohamed, as reported:-

However, Immigration Department enforcement chief Datuk Ishak Mohamed said that the burden of proof of citizenship was on the person suspected of being an illegal immigrant.

“The new Criminal Procedure Code also allows the suspect to make phone calls to anyone who can help,” he said, pointing out that the police had picked her up, not Immigration officials.

“But, please, don’t tell me that after 22 years, you cannot speak Bahasa Malaysia? You mean she would not know how to sing Negaraku either?” he added. - Star, 8/9/2008- Suhakam raps Immigration

So, what is he saying here? If I cannot speak Bahasa Malaysia - then I am presumed not to be a Malaysian. Hello, there are many Malaysians who are not able to speak Bahasa Melayu... (In any event, Rajeshwari did communicate in Bahasa Melayu - but they did not care - they did not believe her... You should have checked ...investigated... It is sad also that the Immigration guy is now allegedly trying to shift the blame...

When did being able to sing the Negaraku a proof of being a Malaysian citizen? Was Rajeshwari even asked to sing the national anthem? He is just talking non-sense. Wonder whether this Ishak Mohamad can sing the Negaraku - and we should maybe just detain him if he cannot sing it right. Absurd comment by a Malaysian public officer. Embarassing further because that man is the 'enforcement chief'.

I believe that there may be other Malaysians (irrespective of whether they are citizens or Permanent Residents) who are currently being detained wrongly in the Immigration Detention Centres - police lock-ups, etc....and after the Rajeshwari scandal, I have very strong basis for saying so.

What we need now if for an immediate check and verification of all persons being detained at these Detention Centres, lock-ups, remand prisons, etc

We MUST Liberate immediately all that are being wrongly detained...it may be Malaysians, those with PR status, Migrants who are here legally, Refugees, Asylum seekers..

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar needed to urgently focus his attention on this matter of great concern - not bother too much about how Anwar investigations is proceeding. I believe the police and the Immigration Department comes within his Ministry..

The courts of course comes under the Judiciary and our good old AG Ghani Patail...

I believe the Prime Minister or his Minister immediately assure us within SEVEN DAYS that in our Detention facilities in Malaysia, there no more Rajeshwari's and 10-month old babies or others wrongly detained..

SUHAKAM has the power to go and check this Detention centres - so stop just making statements. HR Commissioners shall immediately go visit ALL Detention facilities and ensure that there are currently NO ONE else being wrongfully detained.

I believe that this also is a matter for Anwar and his Pakatan Rakyat parties. They should also be concerned about this matters that affect ordinary Malaysians and/or persons - not just the taking over of the reigns of power from the BN.

Name calling and saying hurtful things is one thing - but denying wrongly the liberty of a person for over 11 months is so much more serious, I believe.

Congrats and thanks to that unidentified medical staff, who brought the matter to Andrew Raju's attention.

Thanks Andrew Raju for your care and concern that ended the injustice & suffering of Rajeshwari & 10 month old Logekali.

Thank you to the Star for highlighting this issue - giving us all the opportunity now to ensure that all those wrongfully detained be released soonest - liberated from the suffering they may have had to endure by reason of the attitude, negligence and failings of some public servants and court officials... - and of course the blame is on current BN government and its PM.

Pregnant Malaysian mum wrongfully detained in Migrant Detention Centre for 11+ months

MALAYSIAN, M. Rajeshvari, 22 years old and six months pregnant was arrested in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, and was detained for the past 11 months because the authorities wrongly believed her to be an 'undocumented migrant'. They did 'not believe' her when she said she was a Malaysian.

In October last year, she was later produced in court and thereafter was sent to the depot in Lenggeng in October last year. Lengeng is a Detentention Centre for foreign migrants who entered Malaysia without permission.

She spent 11 agonising months at the Lenggeng Immigration depot for illegals – all allegedly because she could not recall her identity card number and was not fluent in Bahasa Malaysia. This is not acceptable or reasonable.

Finally, she was released now with her 10-month old baby - and thanks to the efforts of Malaysian Indian Youth Council vice-president Andrew Raju, and an un-named staff member in a clinic.

This un-named staff member and Andrew Raju must be commended for their actions that led to an end of a great and shameful injustice that has befallen this women and her CHILD - her now10-month-old son Logekali.

But, how could this happen - and the blame can lie nowhere else BUT on the POLICE, that Judge and the Court, and the Immigration Department.

This was WRONGFUL DETENTION - and I believe that this young mother and her child should immediately be justly compensated by the government - without requiring her to go to court and further hardship to seek justice.

It is an embarassment and a very bad reflection of our own government - detaining wrongfully a Malaysian mother (and child) in a Malaysian Detention Centre for so very wrong...

SEREMBAN: Young mother M. Rajeshvari spent 11 agonising months at the Lenggeng Immigration depot for illegals – all because she could not recall her identity card number and was not fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.

The 22-year-old, who was six months pregnant then, was waiting for a relative at a coffeeshop in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, when a raiding police party asked to see her identification card. She could not because she had lost it. Worse, she also forgot the IC number.

With only primary school education and speaking a smattering of Bahasa Malaysia, she failed to convince the authorities she was Malaysian. They suspected her to be a Sri Lankan immigrant.

Recalling bad memories: Rajeshvari talking about her experience at the Lenggeng Immigration depot. With her is her son Logekali and Raju.

Making matters worse, she could only give the officers sketchy details of her background.

Rajeshvari, who is from Penang and was jobless when she was detained, was later produced in court and eventually sent to the depot in Lenggeng in October last year.

She was unable to seek help from relatives because of estranged family ties. Her family members also did not attempt to look for her.

She was finally released from the detention camp on Friday evening, carrying her 10-month-old son Logekali.

Rajeshvari’s lucky release happened because a staff member at a clinic where Logekali was treated for food poisoning last week had alerted Malaysian Indian Youth Council vice-president Andrew Raju.

“After my arrest, I kept telling the authorities I was Malaysian but no one believed me,” said a tearful Rajeshvari.

Raju, when met outside the depot, said the officers did not pursue her case further as Rajeshvari could not give the right IC number or her parents’ address.

“In the beginning, I also had a hard time checking her out because the information she gave turned out to be dead ends, until she recalled her primary school,” he said.

Raju then contacted the school’s principal in Kampar in Perak, who managed to trace Rajeshvari’s birth certificate number.

Raju then went to the National Registration Department in Putrajaya to get a letter confirming Rajeshvari’s citizenship.

“It has been stressful running around to the various departments. But it is worth it when both mother and son are finally free,” he said.

Rajeshvari said she wanted to put the nightmare behind and start afresh with her baby. - Star, 7/9/2008 -Malaysian spends 11 months at depot for illegals

I do not think an apology by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (PM) or Mohd Najib Razak (DPM) or the Ketua Pengarah Immigresen or the IGP or the Head of the Malaysian Judiciary responsible for the court would suffice....

This woman and her child must NOW be adequately compensated financially for her loss of liberty (and for the loss of liberty of her child) and the sufferings that they have suffered and will suffer in the future.

In terms, of compensation for wrongful detention - in Australia almost AUD1 million was paid out to 11 persons last year by settlement - and that would work out to be about AUD100,000 per person. And there, the wrongful detention may have been for a few days or 3 weeks the most.

In our case mother and child was arrested and detained, I believe for about 12-13 months. When arrested, she was 6 months pregnant - when released at last, she walks out with a 10-month old baby.

Therefore, I would say that besides the apologies, the government of Malaysia must now pay in compensation to this mother and child the sum of at least about AUD2 million or RM6 million.

The Federal Government admits it has paid almost $1 million in compensation to 11 people held in wrongful detention, including an Australian citizen. Figures released yesterday suggest the Government faces further payments of millions of dollars.

Since 1993 11 citizens from nine countries - Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, France, Malaysia, South Korea and Britain - have been paid compensation for wrongful detention.

That does not include Cornelia Rau, the Australian resident detained for months by immigration authorities, or Vivian Alvarez Solon, the Australian citizen wrongly deported to the Philippines in 2001.

On average the 11 people were paid nearly $84,000 for their wrongful detention in confidential settlements.

The total paid was $920,000, according to answers to questions from the Greens senator Kerry Nettle during Senate estimates hearings in May....

...Some of the 11 cases have already been publicly aired, even though confidentiality clauses are standard on settlements for wrongful detention.

Mohamadou Sacko, a Frenchman, received $25,000 after being detained for several days on suspicion of carrying a false passport. A Korean on a visitor visa working on a fruit farm was held at Baxter detention centre for at least a week before it was realised she was here lawfully.- The Sydney Morning Herald, 17/8/2008 - Detention's $1m damage trail

Now, it does happens that persons get wrongfully arrested and detained - but the important thing is that the Malaysian government also do start immediately paying out compensation without requiring persons to have to take the matter to court to get their just compensation for what is clearly acts of negligence on the part of the government.

Concerned lay person Andrew Raju was able to invetigate and provide evidence of the truth - so there really is no justification for police, court, immigration officers, etc ....wrongfully detaining this pregnant Malaysian women, forcing her to have her baby in detention, causing this Malaysian baby to be born in detention and live out the first 10 months in a detention centre - compensate her now..