Bersih: Nur Jazlan’s remark on Maria’s ‘torture’ worrying
Bersih takes Deputy Home Minister to task for saying Maria Chin was treated just like any other detainee.
PETALING JAYA: No detainee should be treated the way Maria Chin Abdullah was, the Bersih 2.0 steering committee told Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed, alluding to the fact that she was held in solitary confinement for 11 days.
The electoral watchdog said Maria’s solitary confinement while she was investigated for offences under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) was a form of “torture”, and called for the government to stop abusing anti-terror laws.
“We maintain that no person should ever be put through such a dehumanising and traumatising experience,” it said in a statement today.
The committee was responding to a report by FMT that quoted Nur Jazlan as saying that the Bersih 2.0 chairperson was treated the same way as any other detainee.
“It is extremely worrying that an individual of his standing sees nothing immoral about treating someone as less than human,” it added.
Maria was arrested on the eve of the Nov 19 Bersih 5 rally, to facilitate police investigation into her involvement in an activity that could be allegedly detrimental to parliamentary democracy.
The 60-year-old mother of three was released after 11 days in solitary confinement.
According to Bersih, Maria’s arrest was not the only obstacle they had to face in the fight for their right to assemble freely.
“During the seven-week Bersih 5 convoy, we had to face harassment and intimidation from violent red-shirted Umno gangsters as well as the police who sought to restrict our programmes.
“And in a pre-emptive crackdown to stop Bersih 5, 16 activists and politicians, including Maria, were arrested.”
The attack continued even after Maria was released, as the government attempted to distract the public from its own “dubious” funding, the committee said.
“Under the flimsy guise of foreign funding and conspiracy to topple the government, the authorities seem intent on stamping out civil society for good, in a desperate bid to maintain their powers.
“Bersih will focus our attention on voter registration in the run-up to the 14th General Election.
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“The power to change lies in our hands and we must exercise our right to choose leaders who will move Malaysia to a brighter future with the rakyat’s best interests in mind.”