Bar Council Auditorium
16 February 2009
Access to justice is meaningless if people do not know their rights.
The Red Book is the Malaysian Bar’s way of taking the law to the people in language that is easy for them to understand. Human rights, the rights of the accused and the rule of law – all mean nothing unless the public, the man on the street, knows what this means to them.
The Red Book is not meant to provide comprehensive legal advice. It merely hopes to put in the hands of every person who needs it, some knowledge of what they may expect from the criminal justice system, of how it is supposed to work and, more importantly, how it should not work.
16 February 2009
Access to justice is meaningless if people do not know their rights.
The Red Book is the Malaysian Bar’s way of taking the law to the people in language that is easy for them to understand. Human rights, the rights of the accused and the rule of law – all mean nothing unless the public, the man on the street, knows what this means to them.
The Red Book is not meant to provide comprehensive legal advice. It merely hopes to put in the hands of every person who needs it, some knowledge of what they may expect from the criminal justice system, of how it is supposed to work and, more importantly, how it should not work.
We are happy to have Yang Berhormat Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, here to support this project for the second time. In tandem with this we hope to put forward to the Minister some views that we have on the setting up of a Legal aid Foundation. I wish to record my appreciation to the Minister for supporting these efforts towards the promotion of access to justice in this country.
Our Red Book project began in 2005 when a video clip of a female detainee doing ear squats in the nude began circulating in November. The video clip caused a huge public outcry and led to the setting up of a Royal Commission.
In response to media attention surrounding the scandal, several lawyers met and banded together in an informal grouping known as TANGKAP (Tindakan Anti–Penyalahgunaan Kuasa Polis).
The nude squat incident and the discussions surrounding it revealed that many Malaysians had only a very limited understanding of the law. Most are unaware of their rights under the Federal Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code. This lack of understanding of the law means that many Malaysians are unaware of what the police can and cannot do in a situation of arrest and detention.
In April 2006 TANGKAP produced a multi–lingual booklet entitled “Polis Dan Hak–hak Asas Anda”, popularly known as the Red Book, which informed citizens of their basic rights vis–à–vis the police. The project was financed by members of TANGKAP and donations from other lawyers. The 10,000 copies that were produced were distributed within a month.
Work on a reprint was held up due to the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code that took time to come into force. Cost, and the need to be practical, dictated the new shape and form of the Red Book. A decision was then taken to produce the information in the form of pamphlets.
Approximately 50,000 copies of the Redbook Pamphlet in English have now been printed, and a further 50,000 in Bahasa Malaysia will be completed shortly.
The purpose and intent of the Redbook Pamphlet is to give members of the public an easy–to–read and quick–to–comprehend list of the rights that individuals have when dealing with the police. The Pamphlet outlines the powers of the police in relation to arrests, body searches and the remand process, and the public’s rights when stopped and questioned, and during detention.
Fewer abuses take place when citizens know their rights.
Abusive practices often prevail because they have gone unchecked. Citizens who know their rights are in a position to question such practices and in so doing, they hasten and encourage meaningful reform.
Knowledge empowers. That is our aim here – to create a level playing field for all those facing the criminal justice system alone so that injustices can no longer take place only because a person knows no better.
I would like to thank the following persons without whom this project would not have seen fruition:
1. Dato’ Loh Siew Cheang;
2. The TANGKAP group;
3. The Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee; and
4. A special mention to Richard Wee, member of the Bar, and of the Human Rights Committee, who spearheaded this project.
Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan
President
Malaysian Bar
Our Red Book project began in 2005 when a video clip of a female detainee doing ear squats in the nude began circulating in November. The video clip caused a huge public outcry and led to the setting up of a Royal Commission.
In response to media attention surrounding the scandal, several lawyers met and banded together in an informal grouping known as TANGKAP (Tindakan Anti–Penyalahgunaan Kuasa Polis).
The nude squat incident and the discussions surrounding it revealed that many Malaysians had only a very limited understanding of the law. Most are unaware of their rights under the Federal Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code. This lack of understanding of the law means that many Malaysians are unaware of what the police can and cannot do in a situation of arrest and detention.
In April 2006 TANGKAP produced a multi–lingual booklet entitled “Polis Dan Hak–hak Asas Anda”, popularly known as the Red Book, which informed citizens of their basic rights vis–à–vis the police. The project was financed by members of TANGKAP and donations from other lawyers. The 10,000 copies that were produced were distributed within a month.
Work on a reprint was held up due to the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code that took time to come into force. Cost, and the need to be practical, dictated the new shape and form of the Red Book. A decision was then taken to produce the information in the form of pamphlets.
Approximately 50,000 copies of the Redbook Pamphlet in English have now been printed, and a further 50,000 in Bahasa Malaysia will be completed shortly.
The purpose and intent of the Redbook Pamphlet is to give members of the public an easy–to–read and quick–to–comprehend list of the rights that individuals have when dealing with the police. The Pamphlet outlines the powers of the police in relation to arrests, body searches and the remand process, and the public’s rights when stopped and questioned, and during detention.
Fewer abuses take place when citizens know their rights.
Abusive practices often prevail because they have gone unchecked. Citizens who know their rights are in a position to question such practices and in so doing, they hasten and encourage meaningful reform.
Knowledge empowers. That is our aim here – to create a level playing field for all those facing the criminal justice system alone so that injustices can no longer take place only because a person knows no better.
I would like to thank the following persons without whom this project would not have seen fruition:
1. Dato’ Loh Siew Cheang;
2. The TANGKAP group;
3. The Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee; and
4. A special mention to Richard Wee, member of the Bar, and of the Human Rights Committee, who spearheaded this project.
Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan
President
Malaysian Bar