Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Centre: Calling all volunteer lawyers to take up Legal Aid Files
Contributed by Fadiah Nadwa Binti Fikri


Section 42 (1) (h) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 spells out the object and power of the Malaysian Bar to make provision for or to assist in the promotion of a scheme whereby impecunious persons may be represented by advocates and solicitors.

This particular section has crystallized an institution notoriously known as the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre which is self-funded by the sole contribution of members of the Bar. The Legal Aid Centre is run by the spirit of voluntarism of its lawyers.

Last year the Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Centre (KLLAC) in particular disposed off 16,000 cases under its various programs. This achievement would not have materialized if it was not for the strong and undying commitment of the volunteer lawyers who were ever ready to assist the centre in taking up files in the course of promoting the right to legal representation as a fundamental human right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

Given the increasing number of cases being referred to the KLLAC each year, the KLLAC urges dedicated members of the Bar to sign up as volunteers by taking up cases circulated on the unassigned list on the KL Bar Website every month.

The ongoing efforts and commitment in promoting legal aid have to be continuously supported by the members of the Malaysian Bar in the promotion of legal aid as a universally recognized fundamental right of every individual as enshrined in Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 14 (3) (d) of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

This is in parallel with the resolution passed by the Malaysian Bar at the 49th AGM of the Malaysian Bar on 18th March 1995 (Motion 1) which states that “It is hereby resolved that every member of the Malaysian Bar shall take up at least one legal aid case or matter per year as and when required.”

To all dedicated lawyers, do call up the legal aid centre now and register your names on the volunteer lists. Together we strive for the promotion of legal aid by discharging our duties as agents of social justice and nation building.

Remember May 21st : ISA : OPERATION SPECTRUM

Hi,

A group of Singaporean activists are campaigning against their government's ISA and are having a demo in Singapore on Thursday. It would be great if we can show solidarity through writing about it, spreading the word, etc.

Kris

Begin forwarded message:

>
> Here is the text for our coming demonstration against Operation Spectrum and the ISA. We hope that you could help us get this featured on GMI, Suaram and other relevant Malaysian organisations that are campaigning against the ISA in Malaysia. It would be good because we could highlight that the governments of both countries still retain this repressive law for their own political and social control, and that is protested against by Singaporeans and Malaysians alike.
>
> Please use the attached image as well.
>
> Remember May 21st
>
> On May 21st 1987, 22 young social workers, lawyers, businessmen, theatre practitioners and other professionals were detained without trial under the internal security law and accused of "being members of a dangerous Marxist conspiracy bent on subverting the PAP ruled government by force, and replacing it with a Marxist state." A second wave of arrests took place on June 20th the same year.
>
> The detainees were forced to make false confessions by the way of mental and physical torture. They were subjected to harsh and intensive interrogations, deprived of sleep and rest, some for as long as 70 hours in freezing cold rooms. All of them were stripped of their personal clothings, including spectacles, footwear and underwear and were made to change into prisoners' uniforms.
>
> Most of them were made to stand during interrogation for over 20 hours and under full blasts of air conditioning turned to the lowest temperature. Under those conditions, one of them was repeatedly doused with cold water. Most were hit in the face while others were assaulted on other parts of the body. Threats of indefinite detention without trial were also made to them should they continue to deny the intentions that they have been accused to harbour.
>
> They were then compelled to appear on TV with their confessions and were told that their release would be dependent on their performance on TV.
>
> On 21st May 2009, which marks the 22nd anniversary of 'Operation Spectrum', a group of concerned Singaporeans will be demonstrating against the treatment of the detainees who were detained without trial under the ISA. You are invited to come to Speakers Corner and remember this day with us.
>
> 6.30pm, 21st May 2009
> Speakers Corner, Hong Lim Park
>
> For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Spectrum

A MOCKERY AND A BLESSING IN DISGUISE!

Following the arrests made on previous night on participants at the peaceful candlelight vigil in solidarity with Bersih activist Wong Chin Huat, my friends and I were informed to be on standby for possible new arrests on the night of 7 May 2009.

I headed home after work and decided to go to the gym early that night at around 8pm, while being on standby to head straight to the police station in case arrests were indeed made. I kept looking at my handphone for any updates. It was 930pm and I decided to leave the gym. Five minutes after that, I got a message from Puspawati Binti Rosman saying that 14 people had been arrested by the Police. I forwarded the message to Murnie Hidayah Binti Anuar, asking her to come to the police station to render legal assistance to those who had been arrested.

Puspa was the first to arrive at the police station and at around 10pm, all of us gathered in front of the police station. We informed the police that we were the lawyers for those who have been arrested. We demanded the police to give legal access to our clients. The officer-in-charge told us that the investigating officer (IO), DSP Jude Pereira, was in a meeting at that point in time. We tried to stay in touch with our clients in order to obtain recent updates on their condition, and we gave them legal advice over the phone. Our clients informed us that the police had asked them to sign the certificates under section 28A(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), i.e. the waiver to the right to legal representation. We advised them not to sign the certificates.


After waiting for nearly an hour, we were informed that the IO’s meeting had just finished. We demanded to see the IO but to no avail. I called the IO’s number and when he answered, I demanded that he give us access to our clients since we had been waiting outside the gate for nearly an hour.

He said that he had invoked section 28A(8) of the CPC and that our clients had signed the certificates. I got so upset that I repeatedly told him that our clients had not signed the certificates. At that very moment, every one who was there could hear, loud and clear, the cries of our clients demanding their constitutional right to see their lawyers, as they shouted, “WE WANT LAWYERS!”

I told the I.O to come near the gate where we were standing as we needed to talk to him to clarify the situation. He came towards us and he repeatedly said that our clients had signed the certificates and he asked us to leave. When I asked him to specify the grounds for invoking section 28A(8) of the CPC, he said, “That’s the ground!”. And I responded, “What IS the ground? Can you please specify the ground??” He kept quiet as he was unable to answer that simple question. Dissatisfied with his response, we demanded to see the certificates ourselves. He just walked off, leaving us without any explanation.
A few minutes later, OCPD Wan Abdul Bahari approached the gate and ordered everyone to disperse in three minutes as what was happening outside the gate was allegedly an illegal assembly. I could see the press and those who were there leaving the place. Ravinder Singh Dhalliwal, Puspa, Murnie, Syuhaini Binti Safwan and I did not step back as we were fully aware of the fact that we were still on duty.

The OCPD counted to three, the gate was opened, and all we could see was the police officers coming towards us. We were all arrested. We were brought to the police station car park and asked to stay there. I got a call from Amer Hamzah Arshad asking me to tell the police that our lawyers wanted to see the IO. I called one police officer and told him that our lawyers needed to see the IO. Much to my surprise, he had the nerve to tell us that we were not under arrest. We asked him, “If we are not under arrest, that means we can walk out now right?” He just looked at us. What a mockery!

Each of us started to call our families and lawyers. While waiting for the IO to get back to us, we just couldn’t help but laugh over the arrests. Don’t get us wrong, it’s not that we enjoyed being arrested, but it was just that the whole situation did not make any sense at all and the best thing that we could do was laugh over the ludicrousness of the institution called “Polis Di Raja Malaysia”, an institution that is supposed to uphold law and order in this country of ours.

“Violated” is the best description as to our feelings in relation to the whole scenario when law, fairness and justice were replaced with highhandedness, arbitrariness and gross violation by an institution that is entrusted to do the contrary. I could still remember, one month ago during a planning meeting on urgent arrest training at the Legal Aid Centre, one question that was raised was the possibility of lawyers being arrested whilst discharging their statutory duties. After what happened last Thursday night, the answer is yes, in line with the infamous tagline “MALAYSIA BOLEH” – anything is possible, including the deliberate breach of constitutional law, the highest law of the land.
We were kept in Brickfields Police Station until 4am. The waiting game was utterly exhausting and emotionally draining. The fact that we had the support from the conscientious members of the Malaysian Bar made us all stronger to face the situation. Knowing that the conscientious members of the Bar would always be there for us reaffirmed, and continues to reaffirm, our beliefs that the struggle must continue. The fact that all conscientious members of the Bar are behind us reaffirms that Rule of Law still has the chance to flourish.

We are lucky that we could see for ourselves, before our very own eyes, how degrading the conditions in the lock-up are. It struck me in the head that once you are being held in the lock-up, you lose your dignity as a human being. The unfair treatment given to us and our clients who first got arrested speaks for itself. They were yelled at and intimidated when statements were being taken down. Why the double standard? Can’t we all be treated as normal human beings? Does God treat lawyers and laymen differently? It’s a blessing indeed, to have experienced all this firsthand.

We don’t fight this battle just for us, it’s for humanity as a whole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtZEJMTq1EE

DEBAT ISA : HARAM ATAU HALAL?

Dear All,

Please be informed that Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) will be organizing “Debat ISA : Haram atau Halal?” in the light of the recent claims made by a group called PEWARIS chanting that ISA is in line with Islam and it is needed in order to protect the religion of Islam.

Please be informed that GMI has sent an invitation to PEWARIS to send their representative to refute the anti ISA stand taken by GMI.

To date, we have not received any reply from PEWARIS whether they will be coming to the event in order to present their views which are in support of the ISA. In the spirit of freedom of speech and expression, the positive reply from PEWARIS to debate on the above mentioned issue is very much anticipated.

We hope that this information can be published on your respective blogs in order to inform the public on the event. The details of the event are as follows:-



Event : “Debat ISA : Haram atau Halal?”

Speakers : YB Saari Sungib (GMI) V Representative from PEWARIS

Venue : Auditorium, Dewan Sivik MPPJ.

Date : 9 May 2009 (Saturday)

Time : 3.00pm-5.00pm



Please be informed that a press conference on the event will be held on 4 May 2009 (Monday) at Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall at 11.00am. do come and show your support.

Thank you.

Regards,

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri

On behalf of GMI

NAJIB'S PLOY : ISA?

Najib's ploy
10 Apr 09 : 9.00AM

By Jacqueline Ann Surin
jacquelinesurin@ thenutgraph. com

LEST we allow our new prime minister to get away with a slick public relations exercise, here are some cold hard statistics about previous prime ministers and the Internal Security Act (ISA).


In July 1981, two weeks into office as prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad released 21 ISA detainees. As he himself candidly admitted on 5 April 2009, he thought it would be good for him. It probably was for his public image then.


But what did Mahathir subsequently do during his 22 years in power? According to Suaram, under Mahathir's administration, 1,500 people were arrested under the ISA. Most notable of these arrests were the 100-plus Malaysians who were arrested in 1987 under Operasi Lalang.


But Mahathir wasn't the only one to start off a premiership on such a good footing. In November 2003, after almost a month of being prime minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi released 15 detainees. Subsequently, however, under his administration between October 2003 and April 2009, there were 105 new arrests.


And so, Datuk Seri Najib Razak isn't really doing anything extraordinary as Malaysia's new and sixth prime minister. His release of 13 ISA detainees on 5 April follows a route Malaysians should now be familiar with.


The question, of course, is what will Najib do after this?


Three foreigners — one from India and two from Myanmar — were the first to be released from ISA detention on 5 April
and were taken away in an Immigration Department vehicle (Pic by Raj Kumar, courtesy of theSun)

Let's be real

The ISA violates human rights. No matter what the rhetoric may be about national security and public order, no government should have the absolute power to detain someone without trial for an indefinite amount of time.


And while Najib has promised a review of the ISA, it has been made clear that abolishing it is not in his pack of cards. Worse, the new administration hasn't even committed to a specific time frame about when this review will be concluded. Instead, it has assured the public that it will take time.


This begs the question about the government's sincerity in respecting civil liberties and putting people first. Proposals for amending and/or abolishing the ISA have, on countless occasions, been submitted to the government. Even if the government cannot trust human rights groups to have the nation's best interests at heart, they can at least trust the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).


Syed Hamid Albar Since 2003, Suhakam has been proposing to the government that the ISA should be abolished. Indeed, then Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar indicated on 8 April 2009 that Suhakam's report may be used as a basis for the government's review. Hence, since the government wouldn't need to start from scratch, it should be able to commit to a time frame of when it will complete its review of the ISA. This, in fact, would be in line with part of Najib's slogan, "Performance Now".


Najib has also said that his move to release the 13 detainees was to demonstrate a caring government that was not repressive. Let's get real. To begin with, no "caring government" should detain people without trial. But the Malaysian government has, repeatedly, in clear abuse of human rights. And Najib was very much a part of both the Mahathir and Abdullah administrations when ISA detentions were executed. Unlike Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who resigned in opposition to the ISA, Najib has through his years in government done nothing to oppose the detentions.


And yet the new premier is now asking us to view him as a leader with heart because he released 13 people. How about the remaining 27 detainees being held at the Kamunting detention centre? As it is, Najib has refused to comment about further releases. Surely his benevolence, if it were genuine, should extend to others who remain in detention, too?


Mmm, brownies Brownie points


No, Najib shouldn't be given brownie points for releasing 13 ISA detainees who shouldn't have been detained in the first place.


But brownie points are exactly what Najib expects, as evidenced by his statements surrounding his first act as prime minister. The subtext to Najib's message to the rakyat is: "I'm a good guy. I released the 13 detainees." It's no different from what an ex-boyfriend of a former classmate of mine once said to her: "You're lucky you're in a relationship with me. I don't beat you."


Apparently, Malaysians should be thankful we have Najib as our new prime minister because he has released 13 ISA detainees and is looking at reviewing, instead of abolishing, the colonial relic from the days of Malaya's Emergency.


But really, Najib should only be allowed to score brownie points if he didn't make this about him. Those detainees, and the ones remaining at Kamunting, deserve to be released, not because Najib is competing with Santa Claus for popularity, but because it was wrong to have detained them in the first place.


Now, if only Najib could say that, and act fully in accordance with that principle, he would deserve the brownie points he seeks from the rakyat.


"Help, I'm slipping" (Pic by takatuka / sxc.hu)


What next?


What will Najib do in the months and years to come? There is no guarantee that he will not follow in the same footpaths as Mahathir and Abdullah by arresting and detaining others under the ISA.


For so long as the ISA is in place, Malaysians will have to live in the constant fear that anyone of us can be picked up by the government at a whim. That's what happened on 12 Sept 2008 to Teresa Kok, Raja Petra Kamarudin and Tan Hoon Cheng. Indeed, our history bears testimony to the countless times the government has used the ISA to silence dissidents and maintain their grip on power in the name of "national security".

All ISA detainees must be released. And the ISA itself abolished.


Not because Najib is a sweetheart of a prime minister, as he would also want us all to believe by walking about Kuala Lumpur and talking about a "vibrant, free and informed media". But because it is the right thing to do if Najib's "goodness" is for real. And until that happens, Malaysians should remain critical and vigilant of our new prime minister.
http://www.thenutgr aph.com/najibs- ploy

Of Tear Gas and Police Station

Yesterday, Murnie and I went to Mentari at 12 and we got to teach the kids to do an English essay about their favourite things. One of the kids, Hajar seemed to show a silent protest when she was asked to complete the assignment. She kept saying that she didn’t like English language and that was the reason she couldn’t complete her assignment. I could see that she got a little bit frustrated as she didn’t have the motivation to do the essay in English. It wasn’t like she purposely gave excuses not to do her assignment, it was more of frustration that English seemed to be a difficult subject for her. I understand her frustration. She is a good student, she is good at math and science. It’s a shame that her frustration would eventually leave her behind. As Murnie and I had to leave early, I think we need to talk to her one on one some other time.

Murnie asked me to come along to join the anti-PPSMI gathering at the National Mosque. As we arrived, we could see the FRU personnel was firing water cannon and tear gas at the crowd. As far as I’m concerned, this gathering was with permit, even though I strongly believe that the requirement for permit is in contradiction with article 10 of the Federal Constitution.

We then proceeded to the mosque compound, we could see a line-up of trucks in front of the mosque, waiting to fire tear gas and water canon at the crowd, mind you, this was happening within the mosque compound. I remember running together with Murnie and Syafiq for refuge. Seriously, the Police had gone bonkers. I didn’t see any justification for their actions. Now I know what it feels like being under siege. The image of the Palestinians running for their lives kept popping inside my head. For God’s sake, this is what we have to endure in our own so-called democratic country. The right to peaceful assembly is nothing but a mockery. For those who are still ignorant or choose to be ignorant as to the right to peaceful assembly, you can google “civil disobedience” by Gandhi and let your brain do some thinking. Stop being neutral and not taking side, what is right will always be right.

After the whole appalling drama ended, Murnie and I headed back to Subang as we wanted to go hang out at Subang Parade. While waiting for the train, we were laughing in excitement over what happened today. Murnie told me this was the first demo she ever attended and it was quite an experience. I told her, if there were arrests made, she could actually experience going to the police station and representing those who got arrested. I told her maybe some other time she got to do that.

As our train was approaching, I got a call saying that there were five people got arrested and they were all at dang wangi police station. They needed lawyers to be there. Murnie and I went to the police station right away. She got so excited that she got to experience going to the police station to represent those people. She kept telling me “kak fad, saya tak penah buat reman, macam mana?”, I told her not to worry. As we got there, we straight away went inside and I saw the Investigating Officer.

“Can I see my clients now?”. He the said, “yes, yes, you can go see them”. As we got into the room, three police officers who were there with our clients asked “siapa bagi kebenaran masuk sini?”. “i.o bagi kebenaran, jadi apa masalahnya? kalau tak percaya boleh tanya sendiri.””tak..bukan tak percaya, sila sila jumpa client puan”.

Four of our clients got arrested when they were on their way back to the car park. I asked the i.o “under what section my clients are arrested”. And he said “ saya pun tak tahu..he jokingly said, saya tak blajar law habis puan”. I asked again “seriously what was the offence? Under what law you are arresting them?”. He said “saya tak tahu under section apa, jangan risau, saua ambil statement lepas itu mereka boleh balik”. I told him “you don’t even have a reasonable basis to arrest my clients?”. He just smiled and walked away.

Mockery no. 2-are there such things called criminal procedure code and federal constitution in Malaysia? From what the i.o told me, the answer is NO.
After two hours of waiting, my clients were released. I advised them to lodge a police report as to their unlawful detention.

Murnie did a wonderful job, when she went to see the i.o to ask for further details, the police asked her where she came from. She proudly said, “We are from the urgent arrest team”. The police then said “wah..there is such a team?”. She said “yes, of course”. I told Kak Lat the whole story and she said Murnie has done a soft launch of our new revived urgent arrest team under the legal aid. Can’t wait to officially launch this team. Those who are interested to be on the team, we will send you a proper invitation in due course. legal aid for all rakyat!

Another fulfilling Saturday

Usually on Saturday, if I have absolutely nothing to do, I would be sleeping the whole day and will only have my lunch at 4 or 5. With so many things happening lately, I hardly get the opportunity to do that.

At 1030 am, me and my friends had a meeting with kak lat to discuss about setting up a working team to help out people of lembah pantai on various issues. We are still recruiting young passionate people who are interested to volunteer to join the team. Official meeting with yb lembah pantai will be held on this Tuesday night. If you are interested to contribute something to the community, please give me a call.

It’s good to have a meeting in the morning, particularly on weekend as I would be compelled to wake up early and have my breakfast. I always love the idea of having breakfast with close friends on weekend which I will only be able to do if I have a meeting in the morning.

At 12, murnie and I rushed to mentari project to facilitate one of the classes held on that day. For this new term, the number of students has increased to 70. We are in need of volunteers to help facilitate the sessions which are divided into three groups, standard 4 and standard 5, standard 6, form 1 and form 2 students.

Had a stimulating discussion with yasir, cikgu mawarni and murnie on our future plans for the kids. We come up with 4 values that all mentari kids ought to have:

1) sincerity
2) respect
3) honesty
4) integrity

We also list out the responsibility that mentari kids ought to fulfill:

1) to one-self
2) to one’s family
3) to one’s community
4) to one’s society
5) to the world at large

The first project that we are gonna do is to invite people from komas to conduct an activity/training on racism and discrimination at our second language camp which is going to be held on 14 march 2009.

We also plan to invite the legal aiders to conduct a training on the issue of sexual harassment involving kids in April 2009.

In May we are gonna teach the kids about the world poverty and how it is inter-related with the 4 values that they ought to inculcate within themselves.

murnie and I then rushed to our legal aiders meeting which was scheduled at 3. After discussing the agenda of the meeting, we had a documentary screening of 10 tahun sebelum merdeka by fahmi reza. I watched this documentary last year. Totally in love with it.

The facts presented in this documentary are the ones missing in our history textbook back in school. You can go visit the national library and read the books which inspire the maker to make this documentary. The books are still kept there, they have always been there.

The documentary revealed the struggle of the people to fight for independence 10 years before 1957. It revealed the resistance of the people to 1946 constitutional proposals for Malaya drafted by the British, umno and the kings, which deliberately excluded the people and their interests as people of Malaya.

These are the facts embedded in history that we barely know of.
If your independent mind is still on for quest for truth, you can visit http://10tahun.blogspot.com/

After the meeting ended, all of us went for a hang out at mamak and fahmi invited every one to go watch acoustic performance for Palestine at 9pm.

Got back at 11. It had been a long day. A long day that left me with an indescribable good feeling that trumps exhaustion. Fulfilling is the word. I’m grateful.

She was born this morning at 5am at Wolverhampton Hospital. Kakak sent me an sms 12hours before she was born, asking every one to pray for her. At 5 am Malaysian time, I got an sms from Abang Azli saying that everything was ok.

Her name is Afwa Adeena. I picked her name 'Adeena' the moment I saw her pix above. Adeena in Hebrew means gentle, noble and delicate.

Every one is happy, it's just that we couldn't see her yet at this moment. Mak flew off to Wolverhampton 2 weeks ago and initially I was supposed to follow her. The original plan was, I resign my current job, take 2 months break, spend time with kakak and her newborn baby before applying a new job.

One day before we booked the tickets, new job dilemma thingy happened which compelledme to prioritize.

There's always a reason why things happen this way. By the way, Mak calls me almost every day and tells me that she buys me this and she buys me that. I'm happy!:)

and Adeena will call me Tita Fadiah. Tita in Tagalog means auntie. Isn't that cute?:P

Death in Police Custody

Some people undermine the struggle of the activists in upholding human rights.See for yourself what has been happening around us. Death in police custody is nothing unusual, particularly to those who practice criminal law. Inquest after inquest, but the situation has never been better. These horrendous acts, inflicted on people who are defenseless are nothing but murder. A cold blooded murder.

Who gives you the right to rip someone off his life? Who gives you the right to inflict even a mild harm on someone else's body while being kept in your custody?

Seriously, can we sleep at night knowing that these things are happening and they are no longer a hidden secret?Can we just ignore this harsh reality just because it does not happen to us or our relative?

Just a month ago, a friend and h** family had to go through a traumatic experience as their loved one was severely beaten and tortured while in police custody.

"We know this thing has been happening, but we never knew it could happen to us".

We don't have to be doctors to know that something is definitely NOT right:-

check this pix out.

http://magickriver.blogspot.com/2009/01/another-victim-of-pdrms-ku-klux-klan.html.