No Lame Duck! RCI Must Establish Cause of Teoh’s Death

2011-01-11

Civil Society Joint Statement             

We, the undersigned civil society organisations (CSOs) say “NO” to the “lame duck” Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the late Teoh Beng Hock which Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak intends to set up.

We demand that the RCI to be given specific and comprehensive Terms of Reference [TOR] to clear all doubts pertaining to Beng Hock’s mysterious and torturous death.

We fully support the position of the Malaysians for Beng Hock Movement that the TOR of the proposed RCI must include the following:

a.      Investigating thoroughly and identifying the cause of Beng Hock’s death, especially identifying the cause of bruise which appeared on his neck.

b.      Reviewing and reforming the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation protocols to be in line with human rights standards and international best practices.

c.      Identifying the political, administrative and criminal responsibility of all individuals or institutions whose decisions and acts had directly or indirectly led to the death of Teoh Beng Hock and recommending specific actions to charge or penalize these individuals;

d.      Investigating into other allegations of torture, illegal detention and other misconducts by MACC if and when necessary and proposing reforms in the formal procedures of and actual practices in MACC investigation and interrogation.

In upholding the cardinal principle of transparency, we demand that the Report of the RCI and all related documents be made available to the public, without conditions.

Transparent Appointment of RCI Members

In order to show his sincerity in seeking the truth and justice, the Prime Minister has to ensure transparency and independence in the selection and appointment of RCI members.

The selection panel must include representatives of the Teoh family, Bar Council, Selangor State Government and human rights community to ensure full consultation and credibility.

We strongly urge the government to appoint only individuals who meet the following criteria to the RCI:

• Is an outstanding and professional figure with high integrity
• Has a proven track record of defending human rights
• Has relevant experience in the area of human rights, law enforcement, judiciary and non-governmental activism.

In this regard, we fully support the list of potential commissioners proposed by the Malaysians for Beng Hock Movement as follows:

No	Name	Background
1	Tun Musa Hitam	Former Deputy Prime Minister and the first  chairperson of Malaysia Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM)
2	Raja Aziz Addruse	Former Bar Council president and former president of the National Human Rights Society (Hakam)
3	N.H. Chan	Former Court of Appeal judge
4	Tun Haniff Omar	Former Inspector General of Police
5	Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan	Former Bar Council president and awarded International Women of Courage 2009
6	Dr. Irene Fernandez	Director of NGO Tenaganita and awarded Right Livelihood Award in 2005
7	A medical professional upon consultation of Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), its ex-president Dr Ronald McCoy (a human rights defender) and other members of the medical community.

We urge the Federal Government not to finalise the RCI and announce its membership without consulting the Teoh family, Bar Council, Selangor State Government and human rights community. Otherwise, the RCI will be seen as a public relations exercise of the Federal Government, with its independence and credibility called into question even before embarking on its task.

Initiated by :

The KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall

Endorsed by : (updated till 2011.01.11, 2pm)

1. The KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
2. Amnesty International Malaysia
3. Pusat Pembangunan Kebudayaan LLG
4. SUARAM
5. Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia
6. Jemaah Islah Malaysia
7. Islamic Renaissance Front Malaysia
8. Persekutuan Alumni Han Chiang Malaysia
9. Group of
Concern Citizen
10. KOMAS
11. JERIT
12. Malaysia Students’ Association In Taiwan
13. All Women Action Society of Malaysia,AWAM
14. Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia
15. Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia
16. Gabungan Mahasiswa islam Se-Malaysia
17. Gerakan Demokratik Mahasiswa dan Pemuda Malaysia
18. Kesatuan Mahasiswa New Era Kolej
19. Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor,Empower
20. Persatuan Prihantin Komuniti Kuala Lumpur & Selangor,PRIHATIN
21. Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan,PERMAS
22. Bahagian Pemuda Persatuan Char Yong S’gor dan Wilayah Persekutuan
23. Bahagian Wanita Dewan Perhimpunan Cina KL & S’gor
24. Persatuan Wui Leng Kuala Lumpur & Selangor
25. Persatuan Alumni PBTUSM Selangor & KL
26. Persatuan Alumni Nam Hiang KL
27. Bhg Pemuda Persatuan Alumni Sekolah Serdang
28. Jawatankuasa Bertindak Peneroka Bandar Jalan Papan
29. Persatuan Penduduk Tmn Muhibbah Seri Kembangan
30. Jawatankuasa Penduduk Zon 23 MPSJ
31. Persatuan Alumni Kampung Sekolah Ampang
32. Persatuan Singa Naga Jin Ying Ampang
33. Gerakan Mahasiswa UPM
34. Gerakan Mahasiswa UUM
35. Gerakan Mahasiswa USM
36. University Malaya New Youth Association
37. Youth For Change, Y4C
38. Penggerak Belia Zon 23,MPSJ
39. Bahagian Pemuda Persatuan Hokkien WP & S’gor
40. Youth Section of Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall
41. Youth Section of Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall
42. Persekutuan Persatuan-Persatuan Bekas Pelajar-Pelajar Sekolah-Sekolah China Johor
43. Persatuan Alumni Taiwan,Johor Bahru
44. Kelab Penyokong SJKC Damansara Kluang
45. Penang Watch
46. Jawatankuasa Penaja SUARAM Kluang
47. Perak Youth Graduate Association
48. Gabungan Murid-Murid Sekolah-Sekolah Menengah Persendirian Perak
49. Persatuan Murid-Murid Tua Sekolah Menengah Shen Jai
50. Bahagian Pemuda Persataun Keturunan Ng’s Perak
51. Persatuan Hopo Kawasan Bidor, Perak
52. Penang Chinese Independent Schools’ Education Society
53. Persatuan Alumni Han Chiang Pulau Pinang
54. Chung Hwa School Union
55. Kong Min School Old Pupils Association
56. Persatuan Kawan Karib Pulau Pinang
57. Pertubuhan Bekas Murid Sekolah Pei Yu, Seberang Perai Utara
58. Persatuan Murid-Murid Tua Sekolah Tong Sian
59. Youth Section of KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
60. Persatuan Bekas Murid-Murid Han Chiang Seberang Perai
61. Persatuan Bekas Murid Sekolah Seng Keo Butterworth
62. Li Hwa School Ex-Pupils Association Butterworth
63. New Era College Alumni Association
64. WAMI
65. Lawyer for Liberty
66. Free Public Forum
67. Red Rose Youth Centre
68. Persatuan Ann Kooi Hulu Selangor
69. Persatuan Murid-murid Tua Sekolah Kuen Cheng KL
70. The Federation of Chinese Associations, Johore State
71. Sarawak Central Region Friendship Association
72. Student Progressive Front NEC,SPFNEC
73. Persatuan Bahasa Tiong Hua USM
74. Persatuan Bahasa Cina UM
75. Persatuan Bahasa Tiong Hua UUM
76. Persatuan Bahasa Tiong Hua UPM
77. Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia SMM
78. Gabungan Anak Muda & Pelajar GAMP
79. Sarawak Dayak Iban Association  SADIA
80. Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia  BRIMAS
81. Sarawak Native Customary Rights Land Network  TAHABAS
82. Jaringan Orang Asal Se-Malaysia  JOAS
83. Persatuan Wanita Desa Sarawak  WADESA
84. Sarawakians Access  SACCESS
85. Community Information and Communications Centre  CICOM
86. Women’s Aid Organisation  WAO
87. Community Action Network
88. Tenaganita
89. Community Development Centre  CDC
90. Youth Wing of the Council of Churches of Malaysia  CCMY
91. Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization  MSN
92. 528 Media Action Group
93. Persatuan Penganut Agama Buddha Fo Guang Malaysia
94. SOS Save Ourselves
95. MALVU Malaysian Voters Union
96. Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall
97. The Association of Graduates from Universities & Colleges of China, M’sia
98. Federation of Chinese Schools Alumni Association of Malaysia
99. Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Association
100. Persatuan Persahabatan Berpanjangan N.Sembilan
101. Eng Choon Association Negeri Sembilan
102. Persatuan Belia Prihatin Malaysia Cawangan N.Sembilan
1
03. Lai Association Negeri Sembilan
104. N.S. Teo Chew Youth
105. N.S. Kwang Tung Youth
106. N.S. Hainan Youth
107. Chinese Methodist Church Seremban
108. Kelab Sukandan Rekreasi Taman Layang-layang Seremban
109. COMIT Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan
110. Persatuan Kebajikan Cahaya Wawasan S’gor
111. Persatuan Kebajikan Bharatham Negeri Selangor
112. Persatuan Wawasan India Selangor
113. Consumer Association of Klang
114. Persatuan Prihatian Belia Malaysia
115. Pertubuhan Seni Music India Malaysia
116. Young Malaysians Movement (YMM) Negeri Sembilan
117. Perak Han Chiang Ex-Pupils Assocation
118. Penang Yan Huang 312 Centre
119. Negeri Sembilan Teo Chew Association
120. Persatuan Belia Xiang Hui, Negeri Sembilan
121. The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia Youth Section
122. Penang Chinese Assembly Hall
123. Chinese Schools Alumni Association of Kedah
124. Centre for Independent Journalism, CIJ              
125. Human Rights Committee of BAR Coucil Malaysia
126. Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce