The recent case of Maslinda Ishak being photographed urinating by a Rela officer while she was under detention has injected new debate into the whole notion of policing morality. There are essentially two points of contention: the protection of the rights of detainees, especially women detainees; and the invisible line between religious ideals of morality and the State.

This is not the first time that disciplinary codes and rules concerning women detainees have been violated. Last September, Razali Pilen, a police officer, was tried for raping two women detainees in a police lock-up. In October 2002, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two police officers while she was held in a temporary detention centre after being mistaken for an undocumented immigrant. Now we have a member of the Voluntary Corpse (Rela) in gross misconduct over his voyeuristic lack of respect for the woman under his purported custody. This demonstrates a worrying trend of flagrant disregard of human rights by individuals vested with powers by the State over its citizens.

Although there are rules and procedues in place to check the professional behaviour of enforcement officers, the question that begs to be asked is, who is policing the police? Thanks to the media, some of these disciplinary breaches are made known to the public, but what of the many more cases that remain hidden? Also, after the furore has simmered down, little is known about the follow-up of these incidents. As in the case of Razali Pilen, although he has been aquitted of the rape charges, he is still liable for disciplinary action for having intercourse with two women detainees while they were in the lock-up. However, the public has no knowledge if Razali Plien has been held accountable at the very least for his " unprofessional conduct".

How are the enforcement officers made openly accountable to the public that their powers are not abused?

Although the law enforcement authorities are becoming more visible about their internal investigations, it depends largely on the vigilance of the media to bring this issue to the community's eye. Understanding the media' limitations of space and emphasis on "current" news, it is not be feasable to expect every single infringement to be reported and followed up. As such, the check of power must primarily be preventive.

Not many Malaysians are aware of their rights should they be arrested. Education in schools does not include a subject on human rights, and much is learnt through hearsay and experience, which can be inadequate at best. This ignorance must be addressed to ensure that every citizen are made aware of and consequently can demand for the protection of their rights. More importantly, this is to ensure that authorities do not perceive that their State sanctioned power can be wielded without limits or respect for human dignity. When basic tenets like female officers being present when handling female detainees are being broken, the consequences can be severe as seen above. Agents of the criminal justice system must be prevented from becoming criminals themselves by being adequately and consistently trained in the complete understanding of fundamental civil liberties as well as human rights, and its importance in the course of exercising their duties to society.

In addition, it is time we open up the space for debate on the issue of the State's control over the realm of private morality. It constitutes as an intrusion into the private domain of a person's life, oftentimes with grave repercussions. An example would be the infamous issue of "Khalwat" or Close Proximity. In WAO's experience, there are many women who are not aware that they can plead not guilty when charged with Khalwat, or be pressured into the "convenience" of admission by the traumatising circumstances of arrest. As such, they may in actual fact be doing something as innocent as watching television or singing at a Karaoke, but have admitted guilt to committing an "immoral activity". The social consequence of this is immense. Generally already burdened with the responsibility of upholding society's morality, a woman's credibility and value would diminish in the eyes of the community. Not only may she suffer socially in terms of her personal relationships, she may also run the risk of losing her legal rights as a mother and wife.

Moreover, the fact that individuals are charged with the power to track morality is in itself questionable. It is disturbing when members of the society are paid RM30 to become overnight "moral vigilantes" and are authorised to spy on their fellow citizens in their private activities. Even if there is training provided, the content and execution is suspect when instances like Maslinda's case occur. Great caution must be exercised to prevent over-zealous individuals from taking the law into their own hands in the name of religion. This is especially when women more often than not become the target of punitive fixation on sex and morality, and are placed in a less empowered position in a patriarchal society to defend their rights.

When the lines between the public and the private domain become increasingly blurred, the space for individual rights and freedom become ever narrower. Perhaps it is time for us to question how much space we are willing to give up before we reach the point where we are forever watching our backs, even in the sanctity of our homes.

Jaclyn Kee
20 April 2003

Fortnightly Column by WAO on Sunday Mail (Reprinted with permission from Sunday Mail)

Related news:

• Tuduhan wanita disuruh buang air dalam trak diteliti - KPN (Utusan Malaysia, 7 April 2003)
• Woman sues Rela member and three others for taking pictures (Utusan Express, 25 April 2003)
• Wanita dirakam semasa kencing tuntut ganti rugi RM5 juta (Utusan Malaysia, 25 April 2003)
• GRO sues over ‘urinating photo’, Saturday, April 26, 2003 (The Star, 26 April 2003)
• Court in action: May 19 (Utusan Express, 19 May 2003)
• GRO unhappy with sentence meted out by court (The Star, 20 May 2003)