Protect and uphold rights of civilians from harm: The strange case of Norizan bte Salleh

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It is mandated by law that our Polis DiRaja‘s duty is to uphold and protect the rights of civilians to peaceful existence.

Remember when older Malaysians reminiscence fondly of the British administration which established Malaysia’s ‘mata-mata’ solid reputation for their discipline and policing skills during the colonial times?

But in Malaysia’s modern democracy, we seem to be hearing more stories claiming abuse and deaths caused by police onto those whose crimes or punishment have yet to be determined and sentenced by the judiciary.

Today, we hear of the strange case of a 30 year old single mother, Norizan bte Salleh, whose submission to Suhakam commissioner N Siva Subramaniam , claimed:

1)  to have sustained 5 gunshot wounds when policemen opened fire on a car she was traveling in.

2)  was travelling in a car when the incident happened. Without justification, police shot at the car from behind, the bullets penetrating through the body of the car and hitting Norizan who was seated at the back seat.

3)  after being shot, Norizan was then kicked and stepped on by the police personnel despite bleeding profusely from being shot.

4)  to have lodged a police report on 16.11.2009 complaining of attempted murder by police, but no action has been taken by the authorities against the culprits.

5)  has never been charged in court for any crime.

6)  she has suffered serious injuries including permanent damage to her hand. A bullet lodged close to her heart had to be removed by surgery at Institut Jantung Negara.

It is understandable to hear reactions of horror when the public read of above such ‘imbalance of treatment’ onto a civilian by the police.

We have heard one woman’s story above.

We now need to hear the police’s side of the story.

Especially the police’s policy and SOP on safeguarding civilians and even those under surveillance to reassure all citizens and visitors that their right to justice is secure by law.

A high income economy as aspired by Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia cannot afford for its law enforcement agency’s capability to be relegated or KPI-ed by the people under the Wild, Wild, West (WWW) category.