WHAT DO WE EXPECT OF CONDEMNED
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS?
By Dr Kua Kia Soong, Director of SUARAM, 27 October 2011
On this 24th anniversary of Operation Lalang, we would have expected the former autocrat Dr Mahathir (Left) to recant his cynical use of the ISA for his political purpose in 1987. Instead he supports (Please find at attachment 2) the former IGP’s warning about how human rights will harm the country (Please find at attachment 1).
Rahim Noor (left), the former IGP has already served his sentence for nearly killing the former Deputy Prime Minister in 1998. This was not only his failure as a human being but he also brought dishonour to the nation’s highest police post by making us look like a banana republic. The police force in a civilised state is meant to be the protector of all citizens and the right to security of the person is the most fundamental human right to be enjoyed by every person in this world.He should therefore be the last person in this country to talk about human rights because he was condemned as a most despicable human rights violator for beating up the former Deputy Minister who was in his custody. Obviously, his short sentence (two months?) has not served as a deterrent to his scorn for human rights. All the detainees who have died under police custody have likewise been deprived of their fundamental human right to safety of the person.
What this country desperately needs is a human rights wave to make our country ratify the Convention against torture and other forms of ill-treatment and the International Covenant on Civil and political rights so that human rights violators including the police and political leaders do not get away with impunity but are given the most severe deterrent sentence.
Dr Mahathir (right) knows full well how he used Operation Lalang for his political purpose in 1987 when Team B of UMNO had applied to the courts to declare the UMNO elections (the one in which Mahathir’s Team A had won by the skin of their teeth) null and void. During the white terror following the mass arrests, the Lord President was sacked and other Supreme Court judges suspended. The rest is history and it allowed him to continue as Prime Minister for at least 15 more years!Yes, Dr Mahathir violated fundamental human rights of at least 106 Malaysians (including myself) in 1987 by detaining us without trial for his political purpose. He cannot wash his hands of this gross violation by pointing to the US violations in Guantanamo Bay. Human rights defenders condemn both these violators. Yes, Mahathir’s record of human rights violations belongs to the same league as the US record in Guantanamo Bay. The only difference is of course, while the US violates the human rights of non-US citizens, Dr Mahathir has violated the human rights of Malaysian citizens.
In the light of the Arab Spring, all autocrats – current as well as spent ones – should be prepared to answer for their human rights violations sooner or later!
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Attachment 1:
Source from: http://malaysiakini.com/news/179699
Ex-IGP Rahim Noor warns of 'human rights wave'
Former inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor today said the coming of a "human rights wave" would threaten the principles on which the country was founded.
Describing the wave as a new religion, he said it would threaten and erode the agreements among the different various races which were stitched at independence.
"If I subscribe to this religion, then I would question why I cannot be a royalty, what more if it concerns the status of the bumiputera?"
Rahim made the comments at a rare public appearance since serving a two-month prison sentence 10 years ago for beating up former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is now opposition leader.
The former police chief gave a keynote speech at the 2nd Perkasa Annual General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur this morning where he called on the Malays to be united against this ‘human rights wave’.
"I say this not as a Perkasa member - you can check the members’ numbers, I'm not part of the organisation, nor am I an Umno member."
This new wave, he said, was similar to the “communist wave” that hit our shores in 1930s and 1940s which was dominated by the Chinese.
Rahim said the communists had attempted to form an "enterprise" with Malay leftists to form a People's Republic of Malaya.
‘Malay leftists were communist stooges’
Taking PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu to task for suggesting that nationalist Mohamed Indera was a freedom fighter, he said the Malay left such as the Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM) was a puppet of the Chinese-dominated Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).
"The PKMM was funded by CPM... When the CPM first set up its headquarters in Ipoh, PKMM also set its headquarters there and when the CPM moved to Kuala Lumpur, PKMM was also ordered to set its office here."
He added that during the Japanese surrender, the Bintang Tiga and All-Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) had murdered Malays on a scale greater than the May 13 riots.
This and the Malayan Union, he said, made Malays realised that they could not allow the Chinese-dominated CPM to come to power.
"It is under such an environment that Umno was formed to unite the Malays," he said.
Rahim, who oversaw the communist surrender as Special Branch chief, urged Malays to be cohesive in face of this "human rights wave" as they were during the “communist” wave.
Attachment 2:
Source from: http://malaysiakini.com/news/179742
'Opposition using human rights for their benefit'
"...While we respect human rights as a universal value, it should be implemented within our capabilities," said Mahathir today.
Opposition politicians are using human rights issues for their political benefit, warned former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.In saying this, Mahathir said he agrees with concerns raised that certain quarters were using the 'human rights wave' for political purposes instead of to save people.
"If we follow the West, which adopts extreme human rights that allows men to get married with (other) men and women getting married with (other) women, (that) should be rejected outright," he added.
Mahathir said as a developing, multiracial and multireligious country Malaysia is not like countries in the West.
"When they are trapped in, they impose much more worse human rights violations compared to us, as what is done in Guantanamo Bay."
"They (United States) don't have laws to detain people without trial, as in Guantanamo (Bay detention camp), and now it is already 11 years. Why don't they release (those detainees)?"
He said while Malaysia has laws to arrest people like the Internal Security Act, the US do not have such laws, but they still arrest and torture detainees for 11 years.
"Their government allows the torture of the detainees. Do not focus on our human rights record, lah. If you want to criticise, criticise (Barack) Obama, lah, for the human rights violations."
He stressed that Malaysia should focus on issues relevant to Malaysia and not adopt all the values in the West.
Yesterday, former inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Noor, when addressing the second Perkasa annual general meeting, warned of people using human rights issues to harm the country.
Mahathir backs Felda listing
Mahathir also said he supports the proposed listing of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and for a certain percentage of its shares to be set aside for non-Malays to purchase.
He noted that the Malays’ purchasing power is limited and by allotting a percentage (of shares) for non-Malays they are able to participate in the development of the scheme directly.
“We should not listen to the opposition in criticising the listing exercise as the Felda settlers had received a lot of benefits. I have heard many regretting at not being able to participate in the scheme, regretting as they cannot receive a lot of benefits.
“Now the price of palm oil has increased to more than RM3,000 a tonne compared to RM600 previously. Felda has successful businesses. Hence, the settlers should not heed what is said by the opposition as they have nothing good to say,” he said.He also supported plans for the present government to conduct studies in extending the New Economic Policy (NEP), despite moves by the government to liberalise the economy.
Mahathir however, admitted that the results of the NEP policy and its administration were far from those desired.
“When we came up with the policy in 1971, it was for a period of 20 years. Now it’s already 40 years and the Malays’ achivements should have by now surpassed what we had then targetted. However, we cannot achieve the target until now.
“Possibly the government should review the shortcomings in the policy and improve on them. I am glad I am not in the government. However, I have seen some successful bumiputera entrepreneurs and that if they work hard and adopt good practises they will be successful,” he said.
Earlier in his keynote address during the launching of an Entrepreneurial Symposium, Mahathir said Malays should get rid of the attitude of wanting to see immediate returns on their investments as what they have to do is work hard.
“Using the approved permits (APs) for vehicles as an example, there are those given APs who chose to sell it to others immediately to get returns. However, there are those who got it like Naza, they have kept the APs and used the profits to build their business to what it is today.”
“So do not expect quick returns on your investments. Even when I entered this bread business (The Loaf) with six outlets, I have yet to receive any profits yet. But we must continue to persevere,” he advised the entrepreneurs.
Also present was Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
1 comments:
The first was a criminal having being condemned to serve in prison for using violence against a suspect and the latter was a prime suspect in the plots against our first national leader resulting in deaths of many countrymen of all races. The two are therefore still suspected of crimes which can be investigate when the old establishment falls and then they would have to account for the crimes they committed.
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