NGOs submit memo to Bukit Aman alleging systemic police failures

2026-02-11 - 04:46

Suaram’s Azura Nasron handing over the memorandum to police representative S Vishvamalar at Bukit Aman today. KUALA LUMPUR: Civil rights coalition Sekretariat Himpun today submitted a memorandum to Bukit Aman on police violence and abuse of power, saying recent cases point to systemic failures within the force. The memorandum, handed to Bukit Aman representative S Vishvamalar by Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Azura Nasron, contained calls for urgent reforms, including tighter oversight of arrests, investigations, raids and the use of force. In the memorandum, the coalition of civil rights groups said these cases “cannot be viewed as isolated cases, as they instead reveal a recurring and systemic pattern of failure”. They said these cases also showed weak enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the aggressive handling of peaceful assemblies, which they added continued to be treated as “security threats rather than a constitutional right”. They also raised concerns over years-long investigations, police statements which they claimed were defensive or inconsistent, and a “deeply alarming” rise in deaths in custody. MORE TO COME