KEADILAN condemns the Federal Government’s decision to appeal the High Court’s decision in the A Kugan case.
This is an extremely callous act as it prolongs the suffering of Kugan’s family, including his mother N. Indra, who has had to fight long and hard to win justice for her son.
No mother should have had to go through what she has and the Federal Government’s indifference to her plight is truly despicable.
The appeal also highlights yet again the Federal Government’s inability to accept criticism of its policies and its fear of anything that smacks of accountability, which borders on paranoia.
Rather than causing a poor family more heartache and waste precious time and money, the administration ought to instead implement the various reforms to the Royal Malaysian Police Force that civil society has been calling for—including setting up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
Supporters of the IPCMC have time and time again stressed that the proposed body is not a conspiracy to dishonour or weaken the PDRM but to instead help create a truly independent and effective police force for a safer Malaysia. It was after all recommended by the Royal Commission led by Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah.
It is also to ensure that tragedies like the Kugan case and far too many other deaths in custody—which are a blot on Malaysia’s reputation—never happen again.
The Federal Government’s decision is simply and utterly wrong.
