Wong Chin Huat on Teoh’s Death

The Malaysian Insider
July 21, 2009

Four Things Najib can do on Teoh’s 7th Day

by Wong Chin Huat

Teoh Beng Hock does not need flowers from PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak, note attached in Chinese: “Heaven envies talent”.  Don’t blame Heaven for his death. Some earthly beings have caused his death after a torturous 11-hour interrogation.

Teoh’s death is anything but an “act of god”. It is neither natural nor purely accidental. He died after a lengthy interrogation without his counsel present. This is an established fact now, which needs no any commission or panel to verify.

It is unlikely that the MACC officers did not find out during the marathon interrogation that Teoh was to tie the knot with his fiancée the very next day. Yet, they kept drilling the bridegroom-to-be from 5 pm to 3.45 am.

MACC chief Ahmad Said had the guts to disown responsibility for Teoh’s untimely death even before the body was buried. Whatever you say about it, however you spin it, no official denial, no fanning of ethnic sentiments, and no white-wash can wipe off the anger and grief most Malaysians feel for his family, his fiancée and their first child she now carries.

Not “act of God”, but political death

Teoh is not only the first person harmed during MACC investigations — more precisely, torturing session if the shocking revelation by another witness Tan Boon Hwa is true — he is the first state officer who has died while under the custody of a federal agency, in what can be perceived as an extension of federal-state intergovernmental power struggle.

Most importantly, Teoh’s demise is the first political death involving a government institution since the Memali incident in 1985.

For all criticisms against Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, while under his reign, many Malaysians had suffered political persecution including physical assaults, and many others had died in police custody, no one has died in the custody or hand of a law enforcement agency because of politics.

What never occured in the past 24 years happened on the 105th day of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. So, Najib’s 1 Malaysia has seen its first political death even before he completes his third month. Would Teoh be the last? Would people die in the hand of other law enforcement agencies like Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalanraya (JPJ) next time around, as a Pakatan Rakyat leader has rightly asked?

Najib’s responsibility on Teoh

But is Najib responsible for Teoh‘s death? Yes, in two unfortunate senses. First, MACC is parked under his Prime Minister Department. It is not an independent agency answerable to Parliament and has not acted independently, the department has to take all the blame for whatever misconduct of MACC, from its selective investigation to torturing interrogation.

Second, Najib’s first-100-day reform had completely ignored any reform of political and public institutions, including MACC which has a history of violence. In January this year, just after the outrageous death of Kugan, a Halimi Kamaruzzaman complained that he was punched by three MACC officers in the head, stomach and shoulder. During his four-day remand by MACC, he was also forced to strip and threatened to have his private part burned with cigarettes.

Antithetical to the communalist spinning now by UMNO newspapers, the last victim of MACC before Teoh is a Malay and in fact an UMNO Division leader.

Halimi claimed that MACC wanted him to implicate Norza Zakaria, a close associate of Khairy Jamaluddin, in money politics in UMNO.  Unsurprisingly, Khairy was the first UMNO and BN politician to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry on Teoh’s death.

Malaysians would have been equally angered and saddened if Halimi had fallen off the MACC’s Pahang headquarters where he was detained after his ordeal, which he compared to the torture suffered by Iraqi inmates in the Abu Ghraib prison. In that sense, all Malaysians — not only Najib — are guilty on Teoh’s death for not ensuring that Halimi would be the last victim of MACC’s alleged misbehavior.

Putting aside his role in the MACC investigations on Selangor Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers which led to Teoh’s death, now Najib must ensure justice for Teoh and the safety of all Malaysians from potential institutionalised sadism and barbarism.

Otherwise, his 1 Malaysia slogan will become a cruel joke on Malaysia which would make all Malaysians want to cry. After all, what good is greater freedom to make money when you can be humiliated, tortured and die mysteriously anytime in the custody of a law enforcement agency?

And what good is inter-ethnic equality if that means all Malaysians, whether you are Indian, Malay or Chinese, stand an equal chance of suffering torture and dying prematurely?

Four Decisions to make on Teoh’s “Seventh Day”

If Najib wants to disassociate himself from the evil sadism which led to the snatching of a young life, of a son from his parents, of a brother from his siblings, of a husband from his fiancée and a father from his unborn baby, the cabinet meeting on this Wednesday (july 22)  should make the following four decisions.

First and foremost, a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCT), now a national and cross-party consensus, must be set up and function effectively. Two conditions must be met. Firstly, to ensure no whitewash, the Commissioners must be appointed upon cross-party consensus after consultation with Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Alternatively, the chair and half of other Commissioners must be nominated by PR. Second, the RCI’s terms of reference must cover not only the tragic incident and the identification of individuals responsible for his death, but more importantly to identify if the command and power structure of MACC contributed to the torturing of suspects and witnesses including that of Halimi Kamaruzzaman and Tan Boon Hwa.

The second decision is the suspension of all MACC officers involved in the investigation of the Selangor cases right from Ahmad Said — if none has the decency to offer his resignation — until the investigation by RCI is completed. Malaysians will not believe the RCI has a free hand if top officials like Ahmad Said who categorically deny any responsibility remain in control of MACC.

The third decision is the ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Torture to be followed by necessary legal reforms.

The fourth decision, and perhaps the most important one for the families of Teoh and other victims of state torture, is to set up an independent Foundation Against Torture named after Teoh.

This foundation should have an initial endowment and annual grant adequate to carry out three tasks: policy research, education, and reconciliation. This foundation should be tasked with policy research on human rights in law enforcement, to monitor trends and propose necessary changes in laws, policies and regulations to eliminate torture.

It should also carry out human rights education for all employees of law enforcement agencies and the general public. Third, it should right historical injustices by facilitating fact finding, reconciliation and even compensation to the families of past victims of state torture.

In other words, it should work much like a Truth and Reconciliation Commission except that it shall operate as a public charity rather than a state institution.

1 Malaysia’s Moment of Truth

These comprehensive decisions are of course unusual for Malaysian politics. In Malaysia, cover-ups are the norm. We never even had an exception. The choice is now before Najib. It’s the moment of truth for his 1 Malaysia.

He can choose all the public relations exercises he wants. He can establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry without independence and power. He can spin away his administration’s responsibility over Teoh’s death. He can make scapegoats out of a few junior officers.

But Malaysians shall, in remembering Teoh’s tragedy, treat Najib’s 1 Malaysia with utmost contempt and pray for his earliest possible dismissal as prime minister

Or Najib can bring real changes to console the dead and the living. While nothing can be done to bring Teoh back to his family, his wife and unborn child, I believe, Teoh whose service had touched many lives would be comforted to know if he would be the last person to suffer what he had suffered.

The seventh day after death is very important in Chinese custom. It’s believed that the soul of the deceased may return to visit his or her home in the seventh evening. It’s the time to offer comfort so the deceased may rest in peace and the living may move on.

Tomorrow is the seventh day of Teoh’s demise. All eyes, from heaven and on earth, are set on Najib and his ministers.

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