RCI outcome more significant

With the death of another person at the grounds of an MACC building, the work of the Royal Commission of Inquiry looking into the death of Teoh Beng Hock becomes even more significant.

THE death of two people either as witnesses or suspects, involving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and at their premises, is unacceptable and indicates a deep malaise in the rules and procedures governing the commission when interacting with the public.

Days after the start of a probe into the multi-billion corruption allegations against the Customs Depart-ment, a senior officer was found dead at the commission's new building in Jalan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur, an incident very nearly identical to the death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock in July 2009.

Like the Teoh case, the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed has sparked immediate and intense speculation with numerous politicians, Customs officials, friends and colleagues expressing shock at his death and offering condolences while also speculating on what really happened.

The commission issued a statement that Ahmad Sarbani had arrived at its office voluntarily on a motorcycle to meet the investigating officer and was found missing after the officer left him alone to retrieve some files.

A search found him dead on the ground floor and police forensic units spent over five hours searching the area for evidence.

However, not everybody agrees with the commission's version, just as was the case with the death of Teoh.

Responding to the national angst, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak ordered a thorough probe into Ahmad Sarbani's death by the commission and the police while discounting the need for another Royal Commission of Inquiry.

The death of Ahmad Sarbani brings into question once again the many rules and procedure issues that were brought up at the Teoh inquest and currently at the RCI into his death.

One of the RCI's key areas of investigation is to discover how the MACC treats witnesses, how it interacts, the interrogation procedure, the hours and time involved and methods employed.

Essentially, this involves the general management of a person once he or she enters the MACC building.

The commission is also mandated to, besides investigating the MACC's rules of engagement, recommend changes, where needed. This is to ensure that people are safe when interacting with or in the custody of the MACC.

Even if a person is a suspect or a witness, the person's basic human rights must be respected and protected at all times, especially the right to life.

It is the duty of the MACC, as the custodial authority, to ensure that the person is safe. Whether the person is guilty or not is a matter to be determined by a court.

That two people have died indicates that MACC's rules of engagement with the public need an urgent and close inspection and possibly a major overhaul so that people are safe when in its custody.

The moment a person is arrested or asked to appear at the MACC office, that person's welfare and wellbeing is in the hands of the MACC.

As revealed in the Teoh inquest, the movements of witnesses or suspects were not strictly monitored or regulated.

Like all law enforcement authorities, the MACC should understand that life often comes to a standstill when a person is called up or investigated either as a witness or suspect. People holding positions or with a social status are suddenly made vulnerable.

It is well known that sudden changes in social status and comfort and the fear of shame or discovery or punishment renders any person very vulnerable and contemplate an exit like suicide as a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

“Everybody is a potential suicide (victim) depending on the degree of vulnerability and the ability to handle it,” said a leading academic and psychologist who spoke on anony-mity.

“The MACC's rules of engagement should understand this vulnerability and mitigate it by strict supervision and other means,” he said.

Ahmad Sarbani's death happened even as RCI was probing the rules and procedures of the MACC in relation to Teoh's death which severely tarnished the commission's image.

The fallout from Teoh's death is still roiling the political establishment.

While the Government has promised that the MACC's corruption probe into the Customs Department will continue, a rattled public also wants to know the truth about how and why Teoh and Ahmad Sarbani had died and more importantly, how to stop such deaths.

With another death, the RCI into the MACC's procedures and rules of engagement is doubly significant because its findings and recommendations could see the creation of a truly effective and a thoroughly professional MACC a commission that the public need not fear or deride but is proud of.

Comment by BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

Source : The Star