A 20 second MMS clip shown to Parliament yesterday has caused an uproar with politicians from both sides asking for an urgent investigation and stern discipline to be meted out. It shows a naked Chinese woman with her back to the camera being asked to do ear-squats by an unidentified female police officer. [EDIT: had wanted to remove "Chinese" from the above sentence but in this case, it is relevant. A Muslim woman would never be subjected to this in Malaysia. UPDATE: it is now alleged that the woman may be a Chinese national]
Before becoming PM, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pledged to reform the police and crack down on corruption. If previous anti-corruption efforts since he assumed power were lack lustre, this incident should really give it a good kick up the butt. There’s no excuses now.
Frankly, the pessimist in me is not surprised to see this happen. This has followed some recent high-profile incidents involving the police and allegations of corruption and abuse of power:
- Cabinet advises cop to withdraw action against girl
- Cops came at 2am, female Chinese nationals claim harassment (a female opposition MP, Teresa Kok’s reaction to this)
Bloggers have already responded:
- Lim Kit Siang – Parliamentary Opposition Leader
- Jeff Ooi
- Mack Zulkifli
- Suanie
- Kimberley Cun
Malaysian News Links:
- The Sun – Caught in the act
- Bernama – Video Of Naked Woman Forced To Do ‘Ear Squat’ Creates Sensation
- Bernama – PM Orders Azmi [Home Affairs Minister] To Visit China To Clear Up Misperception
- The Star – Nude woman ordered to squat (full round-up)
- New Straits Times – Police probing who did the recording
- Bernama – Govt Will Not Protect Those Involved In Nude Woman Case says Deputy PM
- Bernama – Don’t Cover-up Facts In Nude Woman Probe, Police Told
International News Links:
- BBC News – ‘Abuse video’ outrages Malaysia
- Agence France Presse – Calls for inquiry in Malaysia over video of naked detainee
- Reuters – Uproar in Malaysia over abuse of Chinese women
For further coverage of this, use the links above – especially for the Malaysian news outlets and at Jeff Ooi, Teresa Kok and Lim Kit Siang’s blogs.
13 Responses to “Malaysian Police Abuses Power”
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Bravo. At last it is all out,and there can be no more excuses .
I have no issues with cops,but I have issues with corruptible and sadistic malaysian cops.Well,most of them anyway
yup – time for less talk and more action.
that day will come as the day that racial discrimination from the malays stop…
we’re not the ones being racial, its the malays.. and they don’t even notice it…
damion: it’s systemic (the whole system is messed up) which is why an incident like this, sad as it is, needed to have happened to crack it wide open. I’m anxious to see what happens now.
Lucky I’m not a Malay there… nasib baik ah. Takut
kynne: actually if you are a Malay in Malaysia, you’d be entitled to a lot of things than the other ethnic minorities do not get. however that has nothing to do with the abuses of the police – they abuse their powers on all races alike.
that said, they wouldn’t have done what they did to the Chinese women on Muslim women because they know they wouldn’t be able to get away with it. this instance they thought they could get away with it but some brave souls (and possibly a good cop or two) decided to stand up to them. bravo to them!
I like the PM because I think he’s progressive but now he has to act on his pledges to reform the police and crack down on corruption and abuse.
Mooi : Tak, what I meant by takut is that…
I don’t want to get the shits that the Malays get all the “free goodies” that the rest of ethnic minorities don’t – just because the Malays are “anak bumiputra”. They have abused that entitlement to the extent… I pun tak suka.
I remember a Malaysian said on tv… “Anak Melayu Manja”.
I salute Pak Lah. He has gone through so many difficulties, more so after his beloved wife passed away. What you said is true, it’s time for him to crack down on corruption and abuse.
kynne: ah ok – duly noted.
about the “manja” thing, even Pak Lah has said it before that the Malays cannot rely on the government’s largesse forever. But a lot of old-school UMNO politicians are still stuck with the mentality that Malays deserve all the help that they can get and it’s a god-given right. I’m hoping to see more progressive UMNO ppl rock the system.
tat’s pure discrimination lar. the police think every china girls comin to malaysia is a prostitute eh? *shakes head in disbelief*
oh my, what has become of malaysia (represented by the cops).
goodness gracious.
anyway, this is so random. i read your blog quite frequently. it’s very up-to-date with current issues without being too controversial and bias.
another randomness. we’re having a blog meeting tomorrow at utopia, northbridge, 12.30pm. you can meet fellow bloggers in perth. check out my blog for more info.
http://www.xanga.com/kimfluttersby
Wrongfully detained Chinese Housewife
———————————————-
Translated police statement from Malay to English found on http://teresakok.blogsome.com/2005/11/15/china-nationals-sue-police-for-illegal-detention/
This police statement was made by the 4 chinese housewife who were wrongfully detained
Name: Yu Xue zhen
Sex: Female
Brith date: 27 November 1970
Marriage status: married with Malaysian
Name: Gu Xiu hua
Sex: Female
Marriage status: married
Name: Wu Xiao hua
Sex: Female
Marriage status: married
Name: Liu Jing
Sex: Female
Marriage status: married
Brith date: 25 July 1971
We were detained by the police with other lady Chinese nationals from the 3rd of November 2005 (Thursday), about 11pm nearing to Sungai Buloh. At that time we were in a car and the police was holding a road block.
Police detained us with the cause of suspicion of fake passport. We were sent to the Sungai Buloh police station. At about 6 am 4th November 2005. We were sent to the Petaling Jaya Police Station and we were imprison in the lock up in there.
Before we were sent to our cells, we were told to show all our belongings in our hand bag. A police men and a police woman who were at the counter recorded the inventory of our hand bag and asked $50 RM from both yu xue zhen and Gu xiu hua and we gave it to them. At that time, Wu Xia Hua only had $3 RM in her hand bag. She was also force to give it to the above mentioned police officers. The Police women then shared $10 of our money to each of the officers in the station. We were force to give the money because it was demanded from the police officer and we were afraid of them.
After that, two police woman ask us to take off our clothes until we were naked in a room before going into the lock up one by one. The police women ask us to stand and squat five times when we were naked. When it was Yu Xue Zhen;s turn, she felt embarrass from striping and move her back to face the police women. She was slapped by the police women on the face. When Yu Xue Zhen was taking her clothes off. A police man was peeping at her and she screamed. After that the room door was immediately closed. After the body check, were we allowed to put our clothes back on and enter the lock up.
On the evening of 5th November 2005. 5 chinese nationals women including us and 2 indonesian women was brought to the Sungai Buloh police station to record our statement. When we return to the Petaling Jaya Police station. We were again asked to take off our clothes and repeat the procedude. After that all the Chinese women were not allowed to wear back our bras. Only the women of other nationalities were allowed to wear back their bras.
After we recorded out statement on the 5th of November at the Sungai Buloh Police Station, a police man did a hand gesture to Gu Xiu Hua that meant she had big breast.
At about 7pm 5th November, Yu Xue Zhen wrap her body with a big towel and entered the bath room in the lock up. She notive a police man staring at her from outside the lock up’s door. This was witness by Gu Xiu Hua. Gu Xiu Hua remembers Yu Xue Zhen immediately went into the bath room and close the door.
On the first day of our detention period. Yu Xue Zhen’s husband brought two bags that contained clothes, 3 towels, ladies towel, perfume, tooth brush and tooth paste to the Petaling Jaya Police Station to be given to Yu Xue Zhen, but the police officer on duty did not send it to her. On the 5th of November when Yu Xue Zhen was sent to the Sungai Buloh Police Station to record her statement. She was told by her husband that he sent those items to her on the day before. When Yu Xue Zhen was sent back to the Petaling Jaya Police Office, she asked for those items that was sent by her husband to the police, and she found a few expensive clothes, towel, tooth brush, tooth paste, perfume and ladies towel missing. And only two T shirt, a shirt, jeans and long pants was left behind.
We were imprisoned in the lock up for 5 days, only released by the police on the 7th November 2005 when the immigration officer in Putrajaya have validated that our passport was real. Before we left the Petaling Jaya Police Station, around 4 pm, the same police men who did the same hand gesture that praise the size of Gu Xia Hua’s breast. That police man asked Gu Xiu Hua to come to him and did another gesture to ask Gu Xiu Hua to call him. But Gu Xiu Hua did not dare go near him.
We are not happy about the imprisonment and our experience because we were holding valid passport and we have entered Malaysia many times through the years. We have never gone against the Malaysian law and we should not have been detained and imprisoned in the police lock up.
——————————
It has also been alleged through press release by the Chinese woman that the police officer at the road block indicated they wanted a $500 rm bribe. On refusing the Chinese ladies were brought it for “suspicion” of owning fake passports. They were also not given proper drinking, instead they drank straight from the tap.
This is the latest on the issue.
Morning raid on Chinese nationals’ homes
http://teresakok.blogsome.com/2005/11/23/morning-raid-on-chinese-nationals-homes/
The MMS Story
http://teresakok.blogsome.com/2005/11/25/52/
The Video a Malaysian police woman forcing a woman to strip. A dirty minded policeman was secretly hiding and filming her.
http://www.filefactory.com/get/f.php?f=5abefe7d55077db58c9c1793
http://www.bigupload.com/d=4774
http://d52.yousendit.com/E/0V1MNL7RKWOND3GIJZ71L915J4/Lokap%20girl.3gp
zafidi: thanks for this. gees, as more info leaks out it’s getting more and more incredulous.
[...] Turns out that the naked woman squatting in the infamous MMS clip that created one of the bigger scandals in Malaysia recently, was in fact Malay. So therefore I was wrong when I had said that this would not have happened to a Muslim woman in Malaysia. Regardless, the procedure, although widely carried out by the Malaysian police is not a standard prescribed in the Inspector-General’s Standing Orders. [...]