In a report on police abuses officially released on the 2nd April 2014, the Human Rights’ Watch (HRW) said the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) tasked by Putrajaya to monitor police abuses, were failing to do so.

In the report titled “No Answers, No Apology: Police Abuses and Accountability”, HRW said that Suhakam and the EAIC had little success gaining access to police case files, key police standing orders governing use of force and firearms, and other information required to conduct meaningful investigations.

Last June, the federal government’s revealed that 231 custodial deaths occurred between January 2000 and May 2013, with only two officially caused by the police.

In its report, HRW also accused Putrajaya and the police of abdicating their responsibility by failing to make the “policy changes necessary to ensure effective oversight and accountability in cases of wrongful deaths, mistreatment in custody, and excessive use of force”.

To tell us more about the report, and its implications, we spoke with the Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch, Asia Division, Phil Robertson.

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