Parliament should censure Abdullah Badawi and Norian Mai for their silence on irresponsible police gun-play trifling with human lives which is further testimony of  deterioration of good governance in Malaysia in past year since last general election


Speech - at the DAP Bukit Mertajam anniversary dinner
by Lim Kit Siang 

(Bukit Mertajam, Saturday): Last Sunday, I visited How Soon Hock, 24, carpenter, who lost his right eye as a result of irresponsible police gun-play, including Russian rouelette, when he was detained as a robbery suspect.

How recounted  his ordeal at  the Puchong police station on Oct. 6, when he was taken out of the police  lock-up and  subjected to severe beating of his soles with rubber hoses and "electric prod" treatment all over his body, as well as irresponsible police gun-play including two Russian rouelette treatments where all the bullets except one  in the chamber were taken out and the trigger fired.

When evading a police officer who brandished a pistol at him, a shot  went off which  tore off his right eye, nearly killing him.

The police then told How when taking him for medical treatment  to tell the doctor that he had been involved in a motorcycle accident.

I had last Sunday called on the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai to give his personal attention to How’s case to end such abuses of police powers and the Home  Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi to immediately ban Russian rouelettes as a form of police questioning and intimidation technique, and to classify the use of Russian rouelette by a police officer as a serious breach of police discipline warranting criminal prosecution and dismissal from the police force.

The next day, I left for Jakarta to attend the annual meeting of PD Burma, which is an international  network of political leaders to promote democracy in Burma.

I am very shocked on my return that neither Abdullah nor Norian Mai had said a single word  on such outrageous police gun-play in the past week, showing their utter indifference and unconcern about police discipline and public opinion.

The silence of Abdullah and Norian Mai on irresponsible  police gun-play trifling with human  lives is further testimony of the  deterioration of good governance in Malaysia and the undermining of the  principles of accountability and transparency in the past year since the  last general election.

If Abdullah and Norian Mai are not prepared to publicly take a stand to censure irresponsible police gun-play trifling with human lives, then both of them should be censured in the current meeting of Parliament for their most deplorable conduct.
 

 
(21/10/2000)


*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman