KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — PKR lawmaker N. Surendran will get himself fitted for body armour next week and sign indemnity documents before he joins the police on a “shootout” with criminals, determined to disprove the need for the Home Minister’s alleged “shoot first” policy.
The Padang Serai MP told The Malay Mail Online that his acceptance of Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s invitation to join a police operation was no joke and to prove his seriousness, the first-term parliamentarian said he had already notified the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) of his readiness.
“I accepted simply because we never said that we never appreciated the risk faced by the police. I am prepared to take the same risk they are taking,” he said when contacted here.
“The point we are making is that we cannot agree to excessive use of force, or the ‘shoot first’ police as mentioned by the Home Minister, or extrajudicial killings.
“We understand the need for self-defence and that their lives are placed in jeopardy but not this policy of shooting first,” he said.
Khalid extended the unexpected invitation last night to the PKR lawmaker over micro-blogging site Twitter following the barrage of criticisms against the police force and the Home Ministry for purportedly abusing their enforcement powers by employing a “shoot first” policy when on the hunt for criminals.
“For a ‘skin feeling’ of what we face when confronted by armed criminals in our ops, we are offering YB Surendran to be with us.
“We will provide the YB with a body armour.
“Provided the YB will sign an indemnity to absolve PDRM and the GOVT of any mishaps so that he can see and feel for himself,” the IGP wrote in a series of postings using his personal Twitter handle @KBAB51 last night.
In response yesterday, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali described Khalid’s challenge as “unprofessional and absurd”, and told the IGP to focus instead on addressing concerns over the force’s alleged “shoot first” policy when handling suspected criminals.
“It is very disturbing,” the PKR politician wrote in a statement here. “Is the IGP asking N. Surendran to sign his own death-warrant?
“Why are the police so quick to absolve themselves of liability, although the IGP himself had made the offer to N. Surendran?” he asked.
But Surendran said he tweeted his acceptance to Khalid immediately after he was notified of the invitation and was ready to take on the dangerous task.
“This coming week, I will do the body armour fitting. And I will look into the indemnity documents. I am ready to go as soon as the preliminaries are done with,” he told this news portal when contacted yesterday, despite labeling the IGP’s invitation “a most extraordinary one”.
“The cops don’t understand,” Surendran continued. “Strange as it may seem, I think I’ve been one of the best friends of the police... I’ve been trying to clean the force of rogue cops, rogue SOPs.”
“To help the force maintain their image has always been my goal,” the human rights lawyer said.
Earlier yesterday, the IGP had joined Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in denying criticisms against the police for being trigger-happy, insisting members of his force open fire only in self defence.
“We are no cowboys, we don’t purposely take people’s life. We only shoot in defence of our own lives. Just to make you all safer. @PDRMsia,” Khalid wrote in one tweet.
“In a shootout, what choice is available for us. Faced with risks of being killed, we still take the risks. Just to make you safer@PDRMsia.”
Last Saturday, Ahmad Zahid had reportedly advocated a “shoot first” policy for the police when dealing with suspected gang members in the wake of a violent crime spree that has resulted in Malays purportedly making up the majority of the victims.
“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 was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini based on a recording from a security forum in Malacca.
On Tuesday, Ahmad Zahid took to Twitter in an apparent defence of the remark, slamming his critics for failing to consider the rights of police officers and victims of crime, especially those killed.
“Mana hak asasi utk Polis dan mangsa rompak, tembak dan bunuh. Kenapa pejuang hak asasi tidakpun membela? Hak asasi hanya utk penjenayah?” he tweeted in Malay. [Translation: “Where are human rights for the police and victims of robbery, shooting and murder. Why are human rights activists not defending? Human rights only for criminals?”]
The “shoot first” remark has drawn a barrage of criticism from rights groups, lawyers, and lawmakers who accused Ahmad Zahid of, among others, sanctioning the unlawful use of deadly force by the police when dealing with suspected criminals.
