Jakarta – Malaysian rights activists on Saturday demanded action over the "horrifying" number of killings by police, including 113 Indonesians out of a total of 279 killed over the past decade.
"These are extrajudicial killings. The numbers are very significant. It is a major shock to us," R. Sivarasa, a human rights lawyer and opposition lawmaker, told a press conference organized by leading rights group Suaram.
The group cited police data produced during a recent trial that showed 279 alleged criminals, including 61 ethnic Malaysian Indians, 42 Malay Muslims and 113 Indonesians, were shot dead over a period of nine years from 2000, leading to charges that certain ethnic groups were being particularly targeted. Nine people were killed by the police in 2000 and the number surged to 88 in 2009.
N. Surendran, an activist with Lawyers for Liberty, said police were too quick to open fire. "There is a sense of shock and horror among the public. People are upset. Without a doubt the police force has members who are trigger-happy, with a culture to shoot to kill," he said.
Surendran urged the Malaysian government to intervene and "urgently put an end" to the killings, calling 279 deaths "excessively high."
The Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, when contacted by the Jakarta Globe, said that it was not aware of the report. However, Choirul Hadi, from the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI), said he had heard information about Indonesian migrant workers who were shot dead by the police in Malaysia.
"They were shot after being suspected of smuggling drugs," he told the Globe, although he could not provide any numbers. He did question the self-defense claim from the Malaysian police, since the victims were not "high-level smugglers but only couriers who did not carry weapons."
Earlier this year, a team from the National Police traveled to Malaysia to investigate the case of three migrant workers allegedly shot to death by Malaysian police in March.
Dai Bachtiar, the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, said he had received reports that the three workers – identified as Musdi, Abd Sanu and Muhlis – had been shot by police.
They were reportedly driving a sedan and crashed it into a police car. Malaysian media have reported that Selangor Police Chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the three Indonesians were shot on March 16 because they had threatened police with weapons.
Meanwhile, Indonesian and Malaysian officials discussed migrant worker issues during the two-day meeting of their joint commission for bilateral cooperation in Bali.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry's director general for Asian Pacific and African affairs, Hamzah Thayeb, said on Tuesday that officials from both countries stated their commitment to solve problems with migrant workers together, by agreeing to try to collect data on all Indonesians working in Malaysia.
"Unfortunately, most Indonesian workers who are facing legal problems or are being abused by their employer in Malaysia are actually illegal workers. That's why we find it difficult to locate them or provide services to them," Hamzah said. (AFP & Antara)