theSun | FRIDAY DECEMBER 26 2008 21

speak up!

Accountability
comes at a price
by Sonia Randhawa
WITHIN a week earlier this
month, two 15-year-old boys
were shot by police in Greece
and Australia. The death of
the Greek teen triggered riots,
protests and looked likely to
bring down the government.
The death of Tyler Cassidy
in the Melbourne suburb of
Northcote looks like it will bring
investigations, recriminations Freespace
and a search for justice by family Where young views rule
and police officers alike.
It’s unlikely that they were
the only 15-year-olds killed, or even killed
by police, during that week – but they
made the headlines. And the outrage the
two deaths sparked is important. It shows,
paradoxically, a form of maturity in these
societies – that cops killing young boys is
not tolerated, is considered outrageous, that
it is unacceptable.
In Australia, there are investigations
into whether the boy was trying to provoke
his own death – but there seems to be
little suggestion that this would remove
blame from the police. The police exist to
protect suicidal young men, not to assist
them. A scared witness, who had hid from
the knife-wielding youngster, has said the
police action was excessive – despite her
fears for her own safety.
I wonder what would happen in
Malaysia. Deaths in custody of suspects
occur with little media or public attention,
forget outrage. And a death in custody
should raise far more concern than a
death out on the streets – the suspect
is under police control, in police hands
and generally less able to cause a life-
threatening situation. At least not if the
police are doing their job properly.
Why is it that we don’t seem to care? Is
it that we don’t value our young? Or do we
have some belief in the infallibility of the
police force? Judging by our laws, it would
seem to be the latter – we believe that the
police are incapable of error.
Examples of legislation that assume this
abound. Most obvious are provisions in the
Internal Security Act and the Dangerous
Drugs Act that empower the police to take
away a person’s most precious possession
– liberty, with few checks. And the checks
that exist come into play only after an arrest
has taken place.
This could be either cause or
consequence of our attitude to the treatment
of people in custody. There seems to be an
assumption that if they’ve been
arrested, they must be guilty, at
least of something. So perhaps,
on some level, they deserve to
be treated badly. How else do we
explain the indifference of our
media and the general public
when repeatedly confronted
with tales of torture and abuse
in police custody?
Maybe this is changing.
One of the movements that
became Hindraf was a group
of lawyers, including Hindraf
leader P. Uthayakumar, who
were investigating deaths in
police custody and other alleged abuses
of police power. But the deaths of boys in
custody wasn’t the issue that galvanised the
community or the nation.
I attended one session of the inquest of
one of the boys who died in police custody.
The only question of relevance was
whether the man, 21 years old, was sickly
when he was taken into police custody, as
the police were maintaining that he had
died due to ill health. His family maintained
he died because of ill treatment. But
questions that were raised included his past
– whether he had a good record at school,
whether he had criminal convictions and
whether, basically, he was a good boy or
not. This is irrelevant. In law, hanging out
with the wrong crowd doesn’t condemn
you to the death penalty. Having been
caught for a snatch theft doesn’t condemn
you to the death penalty. Even repeated
offences aren’t a reason for the death
penalty. Whether the boy was a “good boy”
or a “bad boy” was irrelevant.
And even if he was ... even if he was in
prison for suspected murder, it would still
be no reason, excuse or justification for a
suspicious death in custody. Because we
have the courts, we have lawyers, there is
such a thing as due process.
So, while I’m appalled at the deaths,
on opposite sides of the world, in widely
differing circumstances, with widely
differing results, of two 15-year-old boys
at the hands of the police, I am heartened
by the vigilance of the communities in
trying to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
And hope that in the near future, we will
demand as high a level of accountability
from our police officers.
Sonia thinks liberty and equality are the
only real guarantors of security. Comments:
letters@thesundaily.com

letter
letters@thesundaily.com

Allow youth to mingle

THE Women’s Centre for
Change (WCC) Penang is
greatly disturbed by the
recent position taken in
relation to the I-Dance street
dancing competition in
Penang.
State PAS Youth chief
Mohamed Hafiz Mohd
Nordin has been quoted
as saying that “elements
like shuffle dancing ... can
lead to social ills amongst
youngsters.”
The response by the state
government, as conveyed
by the state youth and sport
committee chairman Lydia
Ong Kok Fooi has been to
impose the condition that
Muslim male and female
participants are not allowed
to mingle with each other
during the competition.
It is sad and ironic
that an activity such as
street dancing, which has
tremendous capacity to
unite young people from
diverse backgrounds and
encourage interaction
which can only
enhance multiracial and
multicultural unity should
now be demonised as a
potential source of social ill.
What is also
disconcerting is the state
government’s decision to
segregate participants on
the grounds of gender and
religion. This move is an
apparent compromise in
relation to PAS’s earlier
demands that no Muslim
participant be allowed in the
competition.
In a multicultural
society, the characteristics
of diversity must be
promoted and valued as
the strength of the society.
The I-Dance is a healthy
competition for youths
of all races. On the basis
of equality for all races,
WCC calls for integration
and not segregation. We
cannot afford to segregate
the youths based on gender
as we move towards
developing a human capital
with first class mentality.
Women’s Centre for
Change Penang