DAP MP slams double standards in remand period, calls for reforms

DAP MP slams double standards in remand period, calls for reforms

Published: Mar 5, 2025 1:29 PM
Updated: 4:29 PM


Summary

• DAP MP Lim Lip Eng demands reforms to remand rules, highlighting contradictions between the detainment of uniformed officers and rakyat.

• The Kepong MP insists remand should be imposed fairly to all, regardless of ties.

DAP MP Lim Lip Eng has called for a reform of remand rules amid apparent contrasting principles between the detainment period imposed on civil officers and regular citizens.

In a statement today, the Kepong MP drew comparisons between the remand stretch for enforcement agencies’ officers and the rakyat.

“Regular rakyat are remanded for days over a small offence, but two police officers who allegedly stole RM300,000 in Bukit Jalil in February were only detained for a day without even being suspended.

“More shockingly, on Jan 1, an immigration officer caught with 12 foreign passports at KLIA was not detained or charged - instead, his duties were only transferred," Lim lamented.

Insisting that the matter is not merely an issue of justice but also proof that preferential treatment and biases in law enforcement exist, the lawmaker highlighted several cases involving the rakyat.

He cited the cases of two senior citizens who were remanded for four days for allegedly stealing RM2,500 at a wedding reception last month, and in January, a man was remanded for four days for allegedly stealing a phone belonging to a disabled person.

On Oct 14, 2020, six men were remanded for six days for stealing a cow.

‘No one is beyond the law’

Additionally, Malaysiakini journalist B Nantha Kumar was released yesterday after four days under an MACC remand for allegedly receiving an RM20,000 bribe from an agent dealing with foreign workers.

“If senior citizens and phone-snatchers can be remanded for up to four days, why are police officers only detained for a day and not suspended? Why was no strict action taken against the immigration officer who smuggled 12 passports?

“There cannot be one set of rules for the rakyat and another for those in uniform,” Lim added.

He also urged the government to ensure that all suspects, regardless of status or rank, be treated equally and fairly throughout the investigation.

“No one is beyond the law,” he added.