COMMENT Three
years is not a long time. Here in Malaysia, it's just a year short of
how long a regime can legitimately hold on to power before it needs to
hold an election to get the endorsement of the voting public to remain
in power. Three years for ‘causing hurt' to A Kugan is what an officer of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) received.
The truth will never be known in this case or in the hundreds or
perhaps even thousands of others who have suddenly died in police
custody, immigrant detention camps, police shootouts and jails over the
years. We will never know the anguish of families of those killed or who
have died in custody due to negligence.We may share their
sense of outrage but our outrage is diluted with our disdain for the
systemic corruption that permeates every level of government.
Our
outrage in some cases is also dependent on the guilt of the parties
involved. We are indifferent to the fates of convicted inmates and the
unsanitary (and most often criminally negligent) conditions they are
housed in when it is the responsibility of the state to administer their
welfare. Our
parasitic relationship with ‘foreigners', legal or otherwise, does not
leave much room for empathy when it comes to their welfare while in
custody for whatever reasons.
And before anyone accuses me of conflating various issues of our penal and enforcement systems, let me remind you that to
this system, everyone who died is guilty or at least that is the presumption. And
like many Malaysians of a certain class (and perhaps because of my
previous professions) my interactions with the PDRM has been positive
for the most part - so-called illegal rallies excluded - but personal
anecdote has no place in the face of the historical and current
corruption of the system.
The Kugan case like most flashpoints
when it comes to the PDRM or any of the enforcement branches of the
state reveals simmering race and class tensions that are so often
glossed over in this country. This case in particular is perhaps the most cogent example of the state's disdain for the rights of its citizens.
Unconvincing cover-up
I have great admiration for the family of Kugan (as I do all other
families in similar predicaments) who began the long journey of making
it impossible for the state to bury its misdeeds only to reach the
destination of an unconvincing cover-up. Blame was assigned, a verdict recorded, a sentence meted out, but Kugan's family will never know the truth and neither will we. Most people would be familiar with the
gruesome post-mortem pictures of Kugan but to me what is even more sinister was the attempted cover up.
If his family didn't
barge into the mortuary, the truth or the inkling of it would most probably been cremated or buried. The family could not even grieve in peace with
mourners being arrested during the funeral. The lies or misconduct of the
first pathologist (which
only warranted a reprimand) seemed like an apathetic shrug from the
state, as if the murder of Kugan did not even warrant a sophisticated
cover-up. And because of the propaganda for some, Kugan will always
remain the ‘suspected luxury car thief" who died in custody.
It's
times like these Malaysians are reminded of the necessity of opposition
political parties and non-governmental organisations with N Surendran
(whose work together with the other lawyers has been exemplary), Hindraf
and many others (at various times) rightly turning this ‘criminal' case
into a political one. I would argue (and I am sure there will be
many who disagree with me) that here in Malaysia because the system has
been so compromised that any death in custody is an indictment against
the ruling regime and its underlying ideology. With election
fever running high, those sympathetic to the aims of Pakatan Rakyat have
been publically dreaming of the way how a Pakatan administration will
right the wrongs of a system riddled with years of abuse.
This,
of course, is cold comfort to the families of those slain by the system
over the years. Indian, Orang Asli, Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, and
Burmese, the list goes on. The circumstances they died in may not
have received the public scrutiny that Kugan's death did but the system
over the years has many deaths to account for even though our current
home minister can't even get the numbers (of the deaths in custody)
right in the current administration. Reform of the police and
penal systems is such a gargantuan task that it is difficult to
contemplate. No doubt a top-to-bottom approach is needed but the reality
is that any reforms would be piece meal or at worse cosmetic.
Whatever
changes made will fit time and circumstance, this to satiate the
demands of rakyat disillusioned by a police force they perceive as
corrupt or racist, there to do the bidding of their political masters
and not to safeguard their interests.
Reforms need sustained effort
The reality is that any serious reform of the police force or the penal
system will take a sustained effort by successive governments committed
to the principle of reforming these most vital of public services. It
will involve more than just reforming state organs but reforming
mindsets, the public and the police personnel.
It would mean that
the police force as an institution would be more than just any other
convenient government body there to employ individuals who would not be
employable in other jobs. Of
course, the worry here is that these reforms are just part of the many
other desperately needed reforms that this country requires. Cases like
Kugan or Aminulrasyid Amzah or Teoh Beng Hock remind the Malaysian
public of the contempt the current regime feels towards ordinary
citizens.
On the other hand, the deaths and torture that occur in
prisons and so-called illegal immigrant detention camps which is met
with hardly a raised eyebrow by the Malaysian public is evidence of the
apathy the public has towards these issues. I'm sceptical of
truth and reconciliation commissions for reasons which are beyond the
scope of this piece, but I often wonder how a commission like this would
play out in this context.
What would they reveal? Malaysians are
prone to conspiracy theories and who could blame us? A muzzled press
and the constant shadow plays that are a part of our lives are conducive
to a particular mindset that sees tendrils of connections where none
exist. How would we as a nation react to the banal evil that
confronts us in these proceedings? How would certain communities react
when the truth of racial profiling as standard operating procedure is
exposed to the harsh glare of the truth?
Would we be surprised at
the level of cooperation between the various branches of the security
services and where their loyalties lie or would we be cynical enough to
expect such sinister alliances? How
would we react when we discover that the perpetrators were young or
ignorant or both who were just following orders (an invalid defence) or
that psychological examination revealed that security personnel
displayed levels of disorders that made them unsuitable to hold the
positions they held?
How would we react to the blatant racism or
indoctrination that their training exposed them to? And if there were
cover-ups and convicted personnel were paid to take the fall, how much
were they paid?Is the life of a citizen more valuable than a foreigner? Is the life of a Malay man worth more than an Indian or Chinese?
Perhaps the only compensation that these families deserve is financial
ones. It's a band-aid solution at best and if it means that BN pays by
losing its mandate and by winning Pakatan pays in cash, so be it.
Someone has to pay.
Malaysiakini 
