We, the undersigned civil society organisations, are appalled by the news of another death at the MACC (Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission) Office that reportedly occurred yesterday around 10.15am. The victim, believed to be Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed (56) an assistant director of the Selangor Customs Department had been released on bail three days ago, but was found dead on the first floor of MACC building at Jalan Cochrane.<\/p>\n
To the best of our knowledge, this is the second time a fellow citizen has died whilst under the custody of the MACC. The fact that this comes not long after the death of Teoh Beng Hock in July 2009, is a real cause for concern for the peoples of this nation. This incident has again raised questions on the integrity and accountability of the MACC. Public confidence in the credibility and professionalism of the MACC has been shattered!<\/p>\n
We are extremely saddened that the very institutions of the State that are supposed to protect and advance the public’s interest have apparently abandoned the principles of democratic governance. Not only have human freedom and dignity been degraded, lives have been unnecessarily lost.<\/p>\n
Principally, we do not condone any corruption activities. We support the anti-corruption agency’s effort in fighting graft, but right to life is above all – fighting graft must not be at the expense of a life.<\/p>\n
We demand that the government, as a matter of utmost urgency, undertakes the following measures:<\/p>\n
The establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry {RCI} immediately, to independently and thoroughly investigate the said incident.\u00a0 The terms of reference of the proposed RCI must include investigation into the key role of the present command and power structure of MACC in this tragic incident. Half the members of the RCI must be nominated by civil society organisations to ensure credibility.<\/p>\n
The Police must buck up and carry out independent and professional investigation against MACC. They must clear their reputation and regain credibility in this incident. The police have failed to neither investigate nor take action on 59 complaints of abuse of power against MACC. Its inaction caused two deaths – Teoh Beng Hock, and now Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed.<\/p>\n
The MACC investigations director Datuk Mustafar Ali, and all officers involved in the investigation of the case must be immediately suspended, until the completion of the Royal Commission\u2019s work, to ensure justice is served and there is no cover-up of evidence or any obstruction to the investigation process.<\/p>\n
Immediately implement the recommendations by the Parliamentary Select Committee on The Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to enact a Coroner\u2019s Act in Malaysia and to establish a Coroner\u2019s Court to investigate all cases of sudden deaths in custody.<\/p>\n
In closing, we would like to express our deepest condolences for the family of Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed. We would like to encourage the family to approach us should they need further support and assistance in the pursuit of justice and upholding their rights.<\/p>\n
This statement jointly endorsed by:<\/strong><\/span> We, the undersigned civil society organisations, are appalled by the news of another death at the MACC (Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission) Office that reportedly occurred yesterday around 10.15am. The victim, believed to be Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed (56) an assistant director of the Selangor Customs Department had been released on bail three days ago, but was found dead on the first floor of MACC building at Jalan Cochrane. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second time a fellow citizen has died whilst under the custody of the MACC. The fact that this comes not long after the death of Teoh Beng Hock in July 2009, is a real cause for concern for the peoples of this nation. This incident has again raised questions on the integrity and accountability of the MACC. Public confidence in the credibility and professionalism of the MACC has been shattered! We are extremely saddened […]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[260,164],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-joint-statements","category-statements-announcements"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/flowers-desk-office-vintage-large.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16566"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16566"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19381,"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16566\/revisions\/19381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klscah.org.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n1.\u00a0 Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
\n2.\u00a0 Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM)
\n3.\u00a0 Malaysians For Beng Hock
\n4.\u00a0 528 Media Action Group
\n5.\u00a0 AIC (Anwar Ibrahim Club)
\n6.\u00a0 Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM)
\n7.\u00a0 AWAM
\n8.\u00a0 Centre For Independent Journalism (CIJ)
\n9.\u00a0 Child Development Initiative (CHILD)
\n10.\u00a0 The KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
\n11.\u00a0 Community Action Network (CAN)
\n12.\u00a0 Community Development Centre (CDC)
\n13.\u00a0 Council of Temples Malaysia
\n14.\u00a0 DISKOPI collective
\n15.\u00a0 Friends of Kota Damansara
\n16.\u00a0 Frinjan Community
\n17.\u00a0 Hartal MSM
\n18.\u00a0 Ikatan Hak Rakyat
\n19.\u00a0 Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT)
\n20.\u00a0 Johor Tamizhar Sangam
\n21.\u00a0 Klang Consumer Association
\n22.\u00a0 Kolektif LimaPulohB
\n23.\u00a0 Kumpulan Aktivis Mahasiswa Independen (KAMI)
\n24.\u00a0 Lawyers For Liberty (LFL)
\n25.\u00a0 LLG Cultural Development Centre
\n26.\u00a0 Malaysia Youth and Student’s Democratic Movement (DEMA)
\n27.\u00a0 Malaysian Dravidian Association
\n28.\u00a0 Malaysian Indian Business Association
\n29.\u00a0 Malaysian Indian Development and Unity Association
\n30.\u00a0 National institute for democracy and electoral integrity (NIEI)
\n31.\u00a0 Nationwide Human Development and Research Centre
\n32.\u00a0 Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
\n33.\u00a0 People Service Organisation (PSO)
\n34.\u00a0 Persahabatan Semparuthi
\n35.\u00a0 Persatuan kemajuan Pendidikan Malaysia
\n36.\u00a0 Persatuan Masyarakat Wilayah Persekutuan dan Selangor (PERMAS)
\n37.\u00a0 Persatuan Prihatian Belia Malaysia
\n38.\u00a0 Pusat Kesedaran Komuniti, Selangor (EMPOWER)
\n39.\u00a0 Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (KOMAS)
\n40.\u00a0 Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM)
\n41.\u00a0 SOS Selangor
\n42.\u00a0 WAMI
\n43.\u00a0 Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO)
\n44. Perak Young Graduate Association
\n45. UMANY ALUMNI
\n46. Gabungan Anak Muda dan Pelajar, GAMP
\n47.\u00a0 Student Progressive Front USM
\n48.\u00a0 Gerakan Mahasiswa Maju UPM
\n49.\u00a0 Student Progressive Front UUM
\n50.\u00a0 Student Progressive Front New Era Colledge
\n51.\u00a0 Kesatuan Mahasiswa New Era Kolej
\n52.\u00a0 New Era College Alumni Association
\n53.\u00a0 Sembang-sembang Forum
\n54.\u00a0 Monsoons group
\n55.\u00a0 Persatuan Prihantin Komuniti Kuala Lumpur & Selangor, PRIHATIN
\n56.\u00a0 Gabungan Murid-Murid Sekolah-Sekolah Menengah Persendirian Perak
\n57.\u00a0 Ipoh Mini Oasis Library
\n58.\u00a0 Persatuan Murid-Murid Tua Sekolah Menengah Shen Jai
\n59.\u00a0 Persatuan Alumni Han Chiang Pulau Pinang
\n60.\u00a0 Persatuan Bekas Murid-Murid Han Chiang Seberang Perai
\n61.\u00a0 Persekutuan Alumni Han Chiang Malaysia
\n62.\u00a0 Kong Min School Old Pupils Association
\n63.\u00a0 Persatuan Kawan Karib Pulau Pinang
\n64.\u00a0 Penang Chinese Independent Schools’ Education Society
\n65.\u00a0 Bahagian Pemuda Persatuan Alumni Sekolah Serdang Bharu
\n66\u00a0\u00a0 Youth Section of KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
\n67.\u00a0 Youth Section of Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall
\n68.\u00a0 Persatuan Wui Leng Selangor & K.L (Bahagian Pemuda)
\n69.\u00a0 Bahagian Pemuda Persatuan Hokkien WP & Selangor
\n70.\u00a0 Persatuan Sahabat Wanita, Selangor (PSWS)
\n71.\u00a0 Perak Kwang Tung Association
\n72.\u00a0 Council of Churches of Malaysia Youth Network
\n73.\u00a0 Youth Section of Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"