Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily represent In Real Life Malaysia.
Editor’s note: This story was submitted to us by a member of Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR). We advise Malaysians to kindly remain civil in the comments.
Last night, I was participating in a candlelight vigil for those who died of Covid-19 in the past year.
The vigil we planned was supposed to last no more than 10-15 minutes
We arrived around 8pm.
We put out a banner that read “Belasungkawa Jiwa-Jiwa Yang Telah Pergi” (We Mourn The Souls That Have Left Us). We also laid out 500 fresh roses to commemorate the 13,480 lives lost to the pandemic in Malaysia.
Tweet by @takterqyira. Source: Link
Our spokesperson gave a eulogy honouring these 13,480 people, followed by a statement that there would be no second #Lawan protest on the 21st August.
Every second of the way, we each wore double masks. We maintained social distancing at all times. We also used sanitiser to sanitise our hands regularly.
We prepared markers so that the public could write their well wishes on the banner, but we never got that far because…
The police came and approached us
To be fair, they let our spokesperson finish his statement first.
Tweet by @takterqyira. Source: Link
But as soon as he finished speaking, they closed in on us and started yelling.
“Bagi IC!” they demanded.
We questioned them. Why did they need our IC?
“Come with us!” they continued, manhandling us.
“Are we under arrest?” I asked.
The police said: “You are not under arrest.”
Tweet by @takterqyira. Source: Link
“If we’re not under arrest, why do we need to follow you to the station? Did we breach SOP?” I asked.
The policeman didn’t respond.
“If we did, just kompaun us on the spot,” I said.
“You are not under arrest,” the police insisted as one aggressively gripped my arm and dragged me toward a waiting black Maria van.
“Let me go!” I tried to shake him off. “I’ll go with you. There is no need to drag me.”
It was like talking to a brick wall, except this brick wall had his hand firmly around my arm.
The police ignored my pleas and shoved me into the waiting police truck. They did the same with my fellow male activists, handling them with force into the truck with me.
There were a few girls from our group. They were receiving the same treatment from the policewomen, hauling them into another police truck.
Tweet by @Elrynna. Source: Link
Some of us went willingly, a few of us stood up for their rights and refused to cooperate. Because, without a reason given for their arrest, the police have no right to take you somewhere by force.
According to the Red Book, a guide compiled by the Malaysian bar, when faced with a police officer, if you are not under arrest, you are free to walk away.
Source: www.malaysianbar.org.my
Due to the rough handling, there are those among us with injured hands. Two have visible scratches on their bodies. The relevant police reports have been made.
Tweet by @yeeshan_13. Source: Link
They used force to take us away. It was against the law
The police insisted that we were not under arrest, and yet they forced us into the police vehicle and confiscated our ICs. We did not have the option of walking away. We understand that this was illegal.
Furthermore, when we pressed for a reason why we were being forced away in a police vehicle, the police did not provide us with an answer. Once again, according to the Red Book, an arrest is unlawful if you are not informed of the reason.
Source: www.malaysianbar.org.my
We were not told the reason for our arrest. We were not read our rights. Again, this was illegal.
We were brought to the Dang Wangi Police Station
Tweet by @takterqyira. Source: Link
We had our ICs confiscated, and forced to ride the police truck to the Dang Wangi Police Station.
At the police station, we were processed as an arrested person. We were required to fill up the Borang Hak-Hak Orang Ditangkap, a form stating that the rights of the arrested individual had been met.
Why were our details on a form for an arrested person if we were not arrested?
Image via Ashraf Sharifi, the SSR lawn organiser of that evening.
Only then did we discover that we were being charged after all, as you can see in the image above under “sebab-sebab ditangkap” (reasons for arrest).
The charges were for violating:
- Section 21A Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988
- Section 9(5) Peaceful Assembly Act 2012
We were denied the right to an attorney
31 of us were arrested. By right, we should each be allowed a meeting with our lawyer. That right was clearly stated in the Borang Hak-Hak Orang Ditangkap included above.
Please refer to the excerpt below from the Red Book.
Source: www.malaysianbar.org.my
However, that was not what happened. Only three lawyers were allowed in. The rest were denied entry and they stayed outside the police station throughout.
Tweet by @takterqyira. Source: Link
We, the activists, didn’t know this at that time. They had taken our phones so we had no contact with the outside world. The public was made aware of what happened only because a fellow activist was live-streaming the vigil when the police made their move on us.
We were finally released at 1.30 am.
Tweet by @takterqyira. Source: Link
There was a clear goal behind the vigil: To urge the next Prime Minister to watch over the welfare of the rakyat.
Some netizens say that we should not have held a protest last night.
First of all, the vigil was not a protest.
We were not there waving flags around and chanting slogans at 8pm. Instead, we held a short virgil for the lives lost that resulted from the government’s poor management of Covid-19.
We were part of a group called the Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR).
SSR was created to urge Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to resign for his handling of the Covid-19 crisis.
We had held the first #Lawan protest on 31st July 2021. After the protest, we were required to give our statements at the police station.
We had planned a second #Lawan protest that was scheduled for 21st August 2021, but after Muhyiddin resigned, we cancelled it and turned our gathering into a vigil for 19 August 2021 instead.
The rakyat must hold our leaders accountable
With the state our country is in, it is important that we, the rakyat, claim back our power.
Before the vigil, we sent the Yang di-Pertuan Agong a memorandum. These were our requests:
- Malaysia’s political instability must end.
- Our elected politicians must work together to get us through this pandemic.
- A rejection of the previous cabinet. They were a cabinet gagal
- For the politicians to be mature and play their individual roles to the best of their ability
We must not be afraid to speak up when our leaders do not have our best interest at heart.
Our voice can make a difference. For example, when the rakyat pressed for quicker vaccination, the government made it happen. That is what we should do — continue pressuring the government.
We must know our constitution. Understand how the parliament works.
We must ensure that the politicians prioritise us, the rakyat.
There is no alternative.
“We were surrounded by the police and forcefully detained.”
For more stories like this, read: My Baby Died After PDRM Did Not Allow Us To Visit Our Klinik In Time During The MCO.
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