Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Not sure if the same “watchdog” committee announced earlier in February, but MIC Youth’s advisor said there1s a committee being created to play an effective role in handling such police incidents as the Kulim killings.
“But the purpose of the committee is not just to handle custodial deaths and police shootings. Instead it will be fire-fighting committee that will step in every time such an incident happens.”
Vel Paari said the committee will be looking into all other issues affecting the Indian community (then what is the main MIC wing doing?) and will soon come out with a comprehensive report of proposals to solve these issues, but I think it should not bite more than it can eat. Let’s focus on one thing at a moment.
He also clarified that the membership of the 10-person committee consisted of five MIC youth wing members and five independent outsiders.
“We are looking for independent, non-party people to sit in the committee. We have identified two such persons. If anyone is interested, they can contact us,” he said.
So, any takers?
According to Malaysiakini, the youth wing is not satisfied with the manner six men were shot dead by the police in Kulim earlier this week and is seeking a full disclosure on the shootout. At the same time the youth wing is also seeking legal opinions from top lawyers (err…Karpal Singh?) in the country on the shooting of the six suspected criminals by the police.
“We are looking into the various aspects of the shooting. We will then see on what actions we should be taking on behalf of the family members,” the youth wing’s advisor S Vell Paari told Malaysiakini today.
“We are also pushing for the police to immediately start an inquest on the shooting incident. The police too must come clean on what actually transpired,” he said.
He added that several lawyers had also expressed interest in acting for the family members – “either to hold a watching brief in an inquest or to file a suit at a later stage”.
MIC’ Youth’s fact-finding mission reveals some info:
Several family members of the victims have also denied allegations of their (victims’) involvement in criminal activities.
“The MIC Youth wing had visited some of the families and we discovered that some of the victims were in the house in Kampung Kemunting for valid and legitimate reasons,” said Vell Paari.
“Some of the victims were from elsewhere and had just stayed in the house while visiting Kulim. One man was a carpenter from Lumut and was to leave Kulim the next day,” he added.
This is followed by suggestion/urging to hold an inquest:
Vell Paari said that it was important that an inquest was held urgently to find out more about the police killing.
He also said that the police version of events “had some holes”.
He also said that the current practice of dealing with police shootouts must be reviewed to make public inquests compulsory for every police shooting incident.
“How often do we see inquests being held for such extra-judicial killings?” he asked.
A similar report was sent via email by a person who went on a fact-finding mission with some opposition leaders.
