The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
- Opposition to proposal for NGOs on EC
- Teoh family refuses to accept suicide finding
- 'Teoh Beng Hock driven to suicide by aggressive interrogation by MACC officers’
| Opposition to proposal for NGOs on EC Posted: 21 Jul 2011 04:36 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar Council's proposal to allow non-governmental organisations (NGO) to sit on the Election Commission (EC) has been shot down by several quarters. They feel that the EC must be free from political influence as, in the present situation, it was difficult to gauge whether an NGO was neutral or had any agenda. Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) International and Political Studies lecturer Md Shukri Shuib said the system employed by the EC could be improved, but the presence of representatives with vested interests would only create chaos. "Improvement does not mean adding on members to the EC, but improving the procedures or giving fresh ideas. "If the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) is chosen as a panel member, what about the rights of the other NGOs in Malaysia?" he said. Md Shukri said the Bar Council itself needed to be improved so that it was more transparent and fair in its decisions on any matter. "The Bar Council needs to rectify itself first as it is already eligible for registration as a political party. We see that it has strayed from its original objective of looking after the interests of its members," he said. Assistant Professor Dr Shamrahayu Abd Aziz of the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyah of Laws of the International Islamic University of Malaysia was of the opinion that although the matter might seem positive, it would be worrying if NGO representatives could not separate themselves from politics. "The irony is that NGOs have political influence. We cannot avoid it because everyone has their own political agenda. These representatives have voting rights and cannot be fence-sitters," she said. Dr Shamrahayu also said that having NGOs on the EC might result in disagreements between the committee members and lead to disorder in the EC administrative system. Selangor Youth Council deputy president Badrul Hisham Badrudin said he felt that the EC was experienced and continuously improving itself in the implementation of information technology systems and new voter registration. "The commission needs to be free of political parties and NGOs as their presence can invite disputes and allegations by irresponsible quarters. "NGO representatives need not be appointed to be part of the EC, but they should be given the chance to have discussions at forums or seminars," he said. - Bernama Related Stories: |
| Teoh family refuses to accept suicide finding Posted: 21 Jul 2011 04:35 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Teoh Beng Hock's family refused on Thursday to accept the Royal Commission of Inquiry's finding that he had been driven to commit suicide. His younger sister Lee Lan, 31, told reporters that while there might have been evidence of "torture" there was none that he committed suicide. "As a family, we cannot accept the conclusion of the report. It is not an answer for us," she said emotionally. "My brother was not weak," she said. Meanwhile, in Alor Gajah, Teoh's mother Teng Shuw Hor, 58, insisted her son was murdered. "As a mother, I will not accept that my son took his own life. "My son was murdered," she reiterated when met at the family home at Taman Seri Kelemak, Alor Gajah here early Thursday. "The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) must be held fully responsible for Teoh's death," she said. She later joined Lee Lan at the packed press conference in Kuala Lumpur. More in The Star on Friday Related Stories: |
| 'Teoh Beng Hock driven to suicide by aggressive interrogation by MACC officers’ Posted: 21 Jul 2011 04:34 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry found that Teoh Beng Hock had been driven to commit suicide by "aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous" interrogation by three MACC officers. The three named were Selangor MACC Deputy Director Hishamuddin Hashim, and his officers Mohamad Anuar Ismail and Ashraf Mohd Yunus. The commission said that unlawful intimidatory tactics used "would have had grave consequences upon Teoh's mind and would have been a culminating factor that drove him to suicide." In the 124-page report released Thursday the commission said that three MACC officers had probably tried to coerce him into making a statement that it was Selangor state executive council member Ean Yong Hian Wah, Teoh's boss, who had "directed him to commit unlawful acts in handling" an allocation. "This session must have been very taxing on Teoh both physically and mentally. "He had been deprived of sleep throughout that night and into the morning and had had to endure persistent, aggressive and unscrupulous questioning. "His physical condition as described by Ashraf when fetching him the glass of water was that Teoh had moved to sit in an upright position very slowly. "This fourth interrogation session, to our minds, must have been the final straw that broke the camel's back." Teoh, 30, the political secretary to Ean, was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, Selangor, after giving a statement at the Selangor MACC office on the 14th floor of the same building. The setting up of the commission was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Jan 26 after the Coroner's Court delivered an open verdict. The commission also made some recommendations for the change of attitude of MACC officers as there were "serious weaknesses" at the Selangor MACC office. These include: Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen chaired the Commission of Inquiry. The other CI members were former Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, former Appeal Court judge Datuk T. S. Nathan, Penang Hospital's forensic pathology consultant Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh, Dean of Cyberjaya Medical Science College University and consultant forensic psychiatrist Prof Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom and Legal Affairs Division Director-General at the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Saripuddin Kasim. Saripuddin was appointed the commission's secretary while Amarjeet Singh a/l Serjit Singh (deputy head, Legal Affairs Division I), Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud (deputy public prosecutor) and Kwan Li Sa (deputy public prosecutor) were named conducting officers. The CI was tasked with investigating Teoh's death as well as whether there were improprieties in the course of the MACC investigations into Teoh, in relation to the standing orders and practices, and to recommend any appropriate action, if necessary. Throughout the proceedings from Feb 14 to May 18, 70 witnesses were called and 750 pages of written submissions were handed over to the Bar Council, MACC and conducting officers of the commission while 19,200 pages of notes on witnesses' testimonies and 256 exhibits were tabled. The proceedings uncovered new information such as the content of text messages, telephone conversations and the computer of an MACC officer. The MACC's investigations also exposed alleged irregularities in the awards of tenders for bumiputera contractors. The commission, which had appointed its own investigator, former British police officer Michael Leslie Squires, was also assisted by Bar Council representatives and MACC lawyer Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. Last month, the commission's findings were submitted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. More in The Star on Friday Related Stories: |
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