Kugan: Beaten, Whacked, Murdered under cops supervision!

The death of Kugan Ananthan while in police custody is proof enough that police abuse is still rampant and horrendous. Kugan, a citizen of Malaysia who hails from the town of Puchong in Selangor was arrested on Jan 14th in Kajang. He was detained as a suspect involved in a car theft syndicate. After many days being held in Puchong police station, he was brought over to the Taipan police station in USJ on Jan 20th.

While being interrogated by cops, he apparently asked for a glass of water and upon drinking the water, he collapsed and lost consciousness. A doctor from a nearby clinic was summoned to examine Kugan and later confirmed that he had died. Family members who were only informed about the death later in the day was stunned and appalled by what has happened.

The family, suspecting something amiss, went over to the Serdang Hospital, where the body of Kugan lay, in much disbelief and shock they identified and confirmed the body as Kugan Ananthan and was saddened by what they saw. Kugan was beaten, whacked, battered, bruised and obviously murdered. His back had marks of what looks like to be of hot metal rod piercing  through in an inhumane manner and marks of swells all over. There were also deep cuts in his wrists and blood was oozing from his nose and mouth.

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, ever so dumbly as usual, claims and reported that Kugan had died of breathing difficulties because of fluid in his lungs. I wonder if he ever had gone for a crash course in stupidity. Well after-all, based on parliamentary revelations, the number of custodial deaths was 1535 so i guess this is another thing they brush aside as something normal. This is a Human Right abuse. The A-G, after a massive public outcry, re-classified the case as murder. This is how Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Government works, they wait for the consequences before doing the right thing.

And then we have the other idiot, Syed Hamid Albar, who threatens to use his “superpowers” against the 2 heroes of the day, Devamany and Murugiah of MIC, who “rescued” the situation from getting out of hand by visiting the hospital when the family went to identify the body of Kugan. In the name of national security, my arse must fart on syed hamid’s face so as to counter terrorism in the politically unpeaceful, Malaysia. I would suggest he leaves the government a.s.a.p. for the betterment of the country and human race.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo said it was disheartening for Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Syed Albar to say that the public did not care when a policeman dies.

“This is certainly not true and I think he does not understand the issue surrounding Kugan’s death.

“The issue here is not so much the victim but the police who abused their powers to the extent of causing the death of a detainee in police custody,” he said.

Source: The Star Online

It is very interesting to see how the police force works so efficiently with the government people and not with the ordinary citizens of Malaysia. Obviously, the government is taking advantage of the police and also making use of them against their opponents. Indeed it may seem like a good cover-up by the police force who keeps diverting all complains and reports to the family who barged into the mortuary and also the politicians and the public who is still in shock, rather than those directly involved and present at the crime scene when Kugan was dying.

Human Right abuse is one main issue that PDRM and the government must take into account and enforce that a life is a life no matter if it is of a prisoner, convict, politician, or a normal citizen for that matter. The rumours has it that Kugan might have died being beaten by the cops, and the other, being beaten by his accomplices because he was giving out details to the police. Either way, the police has no right to take a life or allow for it to happen what more while in custody. How are we now to depend on the cops when our lives are in danger?  Who could we look up to for help when in times of need?

This reflects the immaturity and undependable police force that we have in Malaysia to so-call protect the citizens of Malaysia. I would firstly suggest DCP Khalid to step down as Selangor police chief, now that he has led the integrity of the whole PDRM down to the drain. And further, the implementation of the IPCMC (Independent Police Complains & Misconduct Commission) to handle and put to task cops on duty who misbehave. Not forgetting of course, a more efficient and smarter police force altogether.

We need a more peaceful, people friendly,  human rights defending police force in Malaysia. The people in this country deserves it and the government is obliged to sustain its integrity and uphold the nations constitution. Only then will the people vote and support the government and also enhance peace and unity among all divisions of every race and creed. We call out for a better Malaysia. One Race, One Face.

Strive to uphold Human Right! – Your Life, Your Right! Let’s Fight for it!

Kugan Ananthan – Police brutality unleashed

Horror flight on board MH161

by Radhika Iyer-O’Sullivan
Jan 20, 09 3:55pm
Malaysiakini

I am a Malaysian currently residing and working in Dubai. On Dec 25, 2008, I flew with Malaysian Airlines flight MH161 to Kuala Lumpur to visit my parents. I was in seat 36H (an aisle seat) and the seat next to me, 36K (window seat) was vacant. The flight stopped over at Karachi for an hour.

In Karachi, more passengers boarded the plane. One male passenger boarded, showed his boarding pass to a stewardess and she pointed to seat beside me (36K). The man looked at me and said, ‘She’s a Hindu, I cannot sit beside her.’ The stewardess responded, ‘So what? What’s wrong with Hindu?’ The man then began to yell and shout that he would not sit next to a Hindu.

The crew insisted that he had to because there were no other seats available because the plane was full. Then this passenger sat down but began to verbally abuse my faith and the crew members. I sat in my seat but was physically cringing away from him. The flight supervisor was summoned and until then the man was still seated next to me. Imagine my shock, horror and fear in being next to a hostile, abusive person.

One steward did stand next to me but did not offer any help and I did not feel safe or reassured. I reached out and told that steward that I did not feel safe anymore. I said this to him softly in English and he told me to sit and wait. He then walked off and a female crew member took his place. All this time I was under the impression that this hostile passenger beside me was a Pakistani.

I then told the stewardess in Malay that this man should not be seated beside me after what he had said about me. There were other Malaysian passengers sitting in the same area and all of them heard me. She smiled and merely nodded.

Finally, the flight supervisor, ‘SB’, approached the passenger and after an angry exchange, the passenger said, ‘Move her then!’ and SB replied, ‘Yes, we will move her’. More angry words were exchanged and it was revealed that the passenger was actually a Malaysian. When this news was revealed, the passenger actually stood up with his fists up, ready to be physically violent. I was then hauled out of my seat and taken to the back of the plane. I was kept in the kitchen.

By this time I had gone into shock and was crying uncontrollably. I was shaking with rage because I was in a position where there was nothing I could do to defend myself. No one else seemed to be doing anything too.

I could not see what was happening from the rear of the plane but I did see uniformed security personnel approaching my original seat. I could not hear or make out what was happening as there was a group of people standing around my original seat. Eventually, the group left and it was announced that the plane would be taking off.

All this time I was in the kitchen, shaking and crying. All that was done for me was crew members taking turns to ask me if I was okay and offering me Coke and water! The plane began to taxi and I was then taken to another seat (42H). As I sat down, I asked the steward, ‘Is he off the plane?’ and the answer was, ‘No.’ I was appalled.

After the plane took off, the flight supervisor, SB, came and sat beside me. He explained to me that they could not put him off the plane because he was a deportee and if they had insisted on putting him off, then the plane would not have been cleared for take off. I was still crying at this point. I asked, ‘Why am I in a different seat? He should be!’ but my question was not answered.

The plane was not full. There were eight seats vacant in the rear, four on the right aisle and four seats on the left. Seat 42H, where I was put, was one of those vacant seats in the rear. If the MAS crew knew there was a deportee boarding, should they not have made arrangements to place him at the rear of the plane? What kind of airline policy allows a deportee to sit beside a female passenger travelling alone?

I spent the next five and a half hours on the flight in tears. I was not able to sleep because I knew that a hostile passenger was only six rows down from me. I was not afraid but in rage. My friends who are reading this would know the kind of person I am. I have always stood up for my rights and for the rights of people whom I love. I would not usually tolerate such abuse and I would not have hesitated in defending myself.

What stopped me was knowing that I was on a plane, in a confined space and that there were other passengers around me too, women and children. The abusive passenger was not removed from the plane and when we landed at KLIA, he disembarked like a normal passenger and was not escorted or arrested. I also disembarked knowing that I was now in the same terminal, on my own, as this hostile passenger.

I am very disappointed with the way MAS dealt with the incident. That passenger should have been taken to the rear of the plane and restrained. I was the victim of the incident yet I lost my chosen seat that I had paid for. Apart from offers of water, Coke and some verbal reassurances, the crew did not do anything else for me.

I have contacted other major airlines and this is how they would have dealt with the matter: I would have been moved to Business/First Class and I would have been escorted into the terminal until I safely exited the airport. MAS did not do anything for me. First of all, they jeopardized my safety and well-being by forcing the passenger to sit beside me knowing that he was hostile towards me and then they did nothing else to keep me safe.

I was in the same cabin as that passenger, wondering if he was going to walk by or pass me. I spent the entire five and a half hours in tears because I could not stand up for my rights and also because I had to keep my own rage pent-up.

Once I landed, I rang my husband in Dubai and related the events to him. He took immediate steps to contact MAS but to no avail. I stayed for one week in Malaysia and every single day, I tried to call their Customer Complaints Department. All I got was a voice mail. I left numerous messages but no one called me back. No one contacted my husband in Dubai. It is only after he put it up on the MAS blog that we have received some kind of response. Fourteen days after the incident, someone from MAS called me to offer an apology.

My husband also received an email from someone who has offered me 25 percent discount on a return flight from KL to Dubai and actually referred to that abusive passenger as a ‘fellow customer’! She also clearly stated that measures taken were to prevent that passenger from getting angrier. So in other words, they do admit that.

These are the questions I posed to MAS:

Why force a passenger who is racially abusive and hostile to my appearance and faith to sit beside me? There were other seats available at the rear as I discovered later.This was not a passenger who was merely fussing about his seat, this was a passenger who was potentially a threat to another passenger.

Why did the flight supervisor immediately give in to his demands and agree to move me? I was not the passenger causing trouble.

Upon retrospect, I think I was lied to. I do not think the passenger was a deportee. It was a lie told to me to keep him on the plane and keep me quiet. If a lie was told, that means that the crew took measures to protect the hostile passenger and themselves but not me, the victim. If so, then the MAS crew perpetuated the racism and discrimination initiated by the passenger.

If this is the case, then the entire crew participated in jeopardising my safety and appropriate action should be taken against them. If the passenger was truly a deportee or an INA (inadmissible because of visa) then the plane captain should have documents about him. If a deportee or INA caused trouble on a flight, the captain should have been informed immediately.

Why was the captain not informed and if he was, why did he not come to see me? I have been informed that KLIA security had been called but there was no one waiting when the plane landed. The abusive passenger disembarked like any other normal passenger. Why was he not nabbed or restrained? Why did not the crew ensure my safety in the terminal too?

I am demanding a formal, written apology from Malaysian Airlines. I want a truthful, reasonable explanation for all the five points I have listed above. I want some compensation for what I suffered. So far, I have only received an e-mail informing that the matter is under investigation.

Obama spoke about Malaysia at his inaugural speech

Firstly i wish to congratulate the 44th President of the United States of America, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama, who took office Tuesday, 20th January 2009. It was a phenomenal opportunity to witness history as i watched the inaugural ceremony from my television set at home.

Such a historic moment was not meant to be missed and thankfully i can now say i watched history made for the second time within a span of a year. The first surely was the March 2008 G.E. which saw BN thrown out to the streets like trash.

President Obama, the first African American black president of the United States, took his seat finally after an amazing race to the White House. He was at first never thought to be even a close fight to the race, but Americans were ready and wanted a change. And hell-yeah they have it now!

He is probably the coolest president of them all, using terms such as ‘hit-it’ before dancing with the first lady, Michelle Obama, at the Inaugural Youth Ball, later in the night after his official oath taking ceremony, and also the term “that’s what’s called ‘old school’” at the same place after the dance.

But nevertheless, his inaugural speech in the afternoon was the highlight of the day. He spoke with much enthusiasm and passion. I was really inspired and was all fired up to see a change that is to come once he takes office.

And as a Malaysian citizen, I stand proud that among all the many hundreds of nations in the world that we live in and in front of the whole world who was listening and watching him speak, Mr. Obama chose to speak to Malaysia in particular at his presidential address from the Capitol. In his speech, he mentioned:

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

- Mr. Barack Obama, President of the USA

Indirectly sending a warning message to the Malaysian government and their corrupt ways of leading a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country that has the power of the people who opened up their eyes and now speaking out and wanting a change in the whole system.

The Malaysian government, have for the past almost 2 years, become a topic of corruption, human rights abuses, police abuse, and all the many other things that has now led to the country’s leading government losing its popularity and being voted out of the parliament in stages.

There has been a rousing support from the citizens to abolish the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) but yet to this date there is more than 60 people kept in custody without being charged in the court of law. And also the case of the use of the word ‘Allah’ to which they say is only reserved for Muslims  to call their God.

These are just mere examples from the many alleged acts that abuses human rights and also misuses of civil power and money politics and all sorts. Malaysia has to grow up. The government has to give way. And the people’s needs must be met and problems resolved.

Just as the Obama campaign went with the tagline,’ Yes We Can’. We Malaysians should also continue to fight for change. And that more mature governance of the country is seen and of cause a much better Malaysian Race is met. Yes We Can!  Yes We Can!  Yes We Can!

One Country, One Malaysia, One Face, One Race

Yes We Can!!! Malaysia Boleh

President Obama’s Inaugural Speech

President Elect Obama’s Election Night Speech

National Service trainees down with food poisoning

So after 16 deaths (probably more uncounted for) and 4 years since its inception, they still can’t get the food right. I really don’t understand this situation. how can such a thing happen every year without fail at every term!!

LUMUT: Some 155 national service trainees at the Teluk Rubiah camp here came down with food poisoning yesterday and were rushed to the Seri Manjung Hospital.

They were brought to the hospital at 7.20am after suffering from stomach ache, diarrhoea and vomiting following a meal of chicken chop at the camp’s canteen. – Bernama

The so-called “National Service” which is not really service and nationally friendly anymore is being more and more ignorant to the cause of its inception. I really don’t understand their motive in having such a gruesome and time consuming thing (perfect word for it) and not giving proper food to its trainees.

Please, these trainees are young adults who are our future leaders of this country and i feel it is not right abusing them and forcing on the dumb national service on them. They have better things in life to do.

I thought that after 16 deaths, the government would at least try and make things different this time around and aim for a better service and no deaths for this term. But now with the food poisoning issue i highly doubt the government is taking any effort in doing anything about it.

They’re probably too busy spoiling the minds of the voters in Kuala Terengganu into believing their stupid tactics and wasting precious tax payments of the citizens with posters of dumb people to be our MP.

Even after numerous calls for National Service to be abolished, for our DPM 16 deaths is just merely a number and not something to be worried about. This is the sad state of the politics in Malaysia with the government not listening and feeling the peoples needs and wants but only concern about whats going into their pockets.

I really hope that National Service either be improved and more efficient and at the same time professional or it is abolished once and for all. Please, please don’t waste the lives of our children. They’re precious possessions and they are dear to us Malaysians.