KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should immediately fire his home minister for espousing a “shoot first” policy when dealing with Indian gang suspects, a remark that showed gross indifference for the life and rights of Malaysia’s minority population, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today.
Its Asia deputy director Phil Robertson said the Najib administration must make it clear that it does not condone such action by removing Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi from the Cabinet.
“Home Minister Zahid is Malaysia’s top law enforcement official, yet he is promoting the illegal use of lethal force. Prime Minister Najib should be clear he won’t tolerate such statements or unlawful practices, which show a callous disregard for basic rights,” Robertson said in a statement.
The HRW official raised further concerns that Ahmad Zahid’s “shoot first” remark could reflect an existing policy within the police force, citing several incidents where criminal suspects were found to have died from suspected execution.
One such example is the pre-dawn police raid on an apartment in Penang on August 19. According to police accounts of the incident, five suspected Indian gang members were purportedly killed in a shootout although some evidence purportedly showed that the men were shot at point-blank range.
Robertson added that this violated Article 3 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and customary international laws which recognises the right to life, liberty and security of persons.
“Killings of criminal suspects by Malaysian police suggest that Minister Zahid’s disturbing remarks may already reflect the practice of some law enforcement officials,” Robertson said.
“Too many people have died in a hail of police bullets for Malaysia’s leaders to continue to sit on their hands”.
On Saturday, Ahmad Zahid reportedly advocated a “shoot first” policy for the police in dealing with suspected gang members in the wake of a violent crime spree that has resulted in Malays making up the majority of the victims.
In his speech at a security briefing event with community leaders in Ayer Keroh, Malacca, Ahmad Zahid said there was nothing wrong with arresting the over 40,000 known gangsters in the country, half of whom are Indians.
“What is the situation of robbery victims, murder victims during shootings? Most of them are our Malays. Most of them are our race,” he was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini, based on a 20-minute audio recording of the speech.
“I think the best way is that we no longer compromise with them. There is no need to give them any more warning. If (we) get the evidence, (we) shoot first,” he added, referring to suspected criminals.
In a Parliamentary reply to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng on September 24, Ahmad Zahid said that the police fatally shot 124 Malaysian criminals from 2009 to this August, of which 56 were Malays while 41 were Indians. Chinese fatalities stood at 23 while the remainder were non-Malay Bumiputeras.
In another Parliamentary reply on September 23 to Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him, Ahmad Zahid said that each case of police shooting is probed carefully and stern action would be taken on police officers that had opened fire negligently.
Co-founder of civil rights group Lawyers for Liberty Latheefa Koya noted that the “shoot first” remark confirmed existing suspicion that the police were operating on such an unwritten policy.
Police shootings have previously fuelled the public’s demand for the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) recommended by the 2005 Royal Commission of Inquiry on the police force, which has remained elusive so far.
