Y.A.B. DATO’ SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Block Utama,
Bangunan Perdana Putra,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,
62502 Putrajaya
Tel: 03 8888 8000
Fax: 03 8888 3444
30/09/2008
Y.A.B,
Re: Six months pregnant Malaysian born Rajeswary (22) “detained without trial” and delivered her baby at Lenggang detain centre and to be deported to Sri Lanka.
We refer to the above matter which was reported in the New Straits Time on 19/09/08 at page 3 and the front page of the Tamil Nesan dated 08/09/08 and to the very serious race and religious extremist policies and the implementation thereof in the UMNO controlled administration of the various government machinery concerning Rajeswary but which is the tip of iceberg with regards to the pain and sufferings of the Indians in Malaysia on a day to day basis as follows:
1) Police Force.
Six months pregnant Rajeswary was arrested on suspicious being a Sri Lankan in Brickfields for having lost her identity card and not being able to remember her identity card number and her less than satisfactory command of the Malay language. Had the arresting police personal asked her the relevant questions about her whereabouts, where she studied and at least two references that could vouch for her, there would have been no necessity to arrest her. But things have come to a stage in Malaysia generally that when the police see an Indian they see a suspect worthy of being harassed or detained without proper investigation or evidence. An immediate finger point check would have revealed that Rajeswary was Malaysian born.
2) Junior Magistrates dispensing Justice.
Rajeswary was given a trial by a “qualified and independent” Magistrate to two months jail, we presume under Malaysia’s “Summary Justice” lasting a few minutes. This learned Magistrate did not bother sending Rajeswary for finger print test or asking the police to verify her references before sentencing her to two months imprisonment. Sending someone to jail has not been done with extreme caution. Magistrates are also known to be “friendly” with the police. Magistrates must have at least seven year standing before being allowed to dispense justice especially sending people to jail.
3) No State funded legal aid.
Assuming there was fully state funded effective legal aid for all criminal cases to be fair as one single individual has to face the weight and might of the whole state machinery, this and hundreds of similar or worse injustices would not be happening to especially the Indians. The RM 207.93 Billion budget made zero provisions for the provision of legal aid. Even in Thailand the legal aid lawyer is given a room within the police station itself to see to the administration of justice being meted out fairly.
4) No qualified Public Prosecutor
Even after 51 years of independence, legally qualified junior Police Officers still conduct criminal prosecutions at Magistrates Courts. A legally qualified Public Prosecutor would have made the difference by at least having a thumb print check and a check of her family’s permanent address. Yet again there had been zero allocation for legally qualified Public Prosecutors at all levels of the Malaysian Judiciary including the Magistrates Courts. The Police end up being the arresting officer, investigating officer, the prosecuting officer and the jailor all in one without proper check and balance.
5) Prison and Welfare Authorities.
Had the prison welfare officers taken even the basic and minimum standards of care and basic humanitarian concern, Rajeswary would not have served her two months sentence and a further nine months detention at the Lenggang Detention Centre. Rajeswary was lucky not to have been “successfully” deported to Sri Lanka. The Prison and Welfare Officers failed justice.
6) Indian NGO
Rajeswary was lucky to have bumped into an Indian NGO member by chance when taken to a clinic to treat her daughter. The Malaysian Indian Youth Council had succeeded in tracing her birth certificate from her Tamil school, procured a confirmation letter from the National Registration Department in Putrajaya and eventually secured her release together with her now eight month old baby who probably has not been issued with a certificate only for her to be arrested and imprisoned like her mother in twenty years time. And the cycle goes on especially for the Indian community.
7) Multi Racial Civil Society
Had Rajeswary been at least a foreigner some NGOs’ would have reached her like the Nepali Bahadur case some two years ago. So much for multi racialism by the opposition parties, NGOs, civil society and print and electronic media and mainstream media except NST in this case.
8) No mercy for 8 months pregnant lady.
The Malaysian authorities obviously had no mercy for even this eight months pregnant Indian lady. What more the rest of the Indian community.
9) Failure of Education System.
Rajeswary has obviously not been given the basic education to even to be able to properly converse in Malay. What more to excel like the Malay Muslims.
10) Conclusion
This case is not an isolated. Every hundreds of especially the most vulnerable Indians suffer in almost all other aspects of day to day life at the hands of the Malaysian Authorities under UMNO’s racist and religious extremist regime’s policies and the implementation thereto. Suhakam Commissioner Datuk Khalid Ibrahim is in Inquiries confirm that there are many more children between the age 12 to 17 in detention camps. We dread thinking of the 40,000 Indian children in the State of Selangor alone without birth certificates. Why does this happen only to the Indians? It doesn’t happen to the Malays, Chinese, Orang Asli, Kadazan and Iban. Why? Because only the Indians are excluded from the Mainstream development in Malaysia.
In Rajeswary’s case an apology and a RM 500,000.00 compensation is in order.
Thank you,
Yours faithfully,
………………………
P. Waytha Moorthy
[Chairman- Currently in London]
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