Have you heard of the true story of a case in the US, where a burglar had broken entry into a home, got stuck in the garage and couldn’t get out for a few days because the house owners were away on vacation? He survived by eating dog food stored in the garage. When the home owners got home, he of course was caught good and proper and was bundled off by the police. However, when the court heard his case – believe it or not, it was the home owner who was made the offender and the burglar the victim, because the “poor thing” was caught in the garage had to survive on dog food!!
I laughed when I read about it thinking this kind of stupidity can only happen in US. But guess what – it’s happened right here in Malaysia; unfortunately, to a person I greatly admire. I don’t personally know Irene Fernandez (though I bumped into her a few months ago and wished her well) but this woman’s heart for the helpless and her strength and courage have amazed me.
In 1995, Irene Fernandez had exposed the poor conditions at immigration detention centres in a memorandum entitled ‘Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised Conditions of Migrant Workers in Detention Centres’. She was arrested and charged a year later under Section 8A(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, 1984. This was a time when migrant workers were especially pouring into the country and many of them, illegally. Those caught were sent to detention centres which were probably ill-equipped to cater for the increasing numbers. The testimonies of these detainees on the atrocious treatment they received were pitiful. So when one woman had the audacity to reveal these conditions, she became the offender. She was sentenced to 12-month imprisonment in 2003 (after a 7-year trial) and was allowed bail pending appeal.
You see, in “those days,” we were not supposed to find fault with the almighty public servant, and we are all aware of how the judiciary was being manipulated at that time. After all – why make such a fuss over foreigners? That’s what troubles me. Instead of making a thorough investigation and checking out the statements recorded, the denials of the offenders was simply accepted as truth. A woman demanding that we treat humans as humans was found guilty “of maliciously publishing false news.” Yeah, I’m biased, because I am very aware of the kind of work this woman does. I mean why should she bother, especially to go to jail. It’s not her fight! It’s exactly that, that makes this woman admirable. We need more Irene Fernandez’s in this world.
There has been a whole lot of bungling that has lead to a delay in hearing her appeal. What with missing documents – statements of prosecution witnesses, computer viruses wiping out volumes of notes (haven’t they heard of back-ups?) It has been a 13-year court battle and she deserves a fair trial. Justice must be seen to done and the integrity of the courts is at stake here. More importantly – the accountability of those responsible for Detention Centres is the issue here and the trial has become a smoke screen to detract from the real issues of governance, responsibility and integrity of public servants.
Let’s get back on focus. Irene Fernandez needs to be commended for highlighting wrongs that need to be set right in our society. Go after the real rogues!
(Post script: Irene Fernandez has since been cleared of all charges and set free!! Finally!!)
Irene Fernandez
November 4, 2008Have you heard of the true story of a case in the US, where a burglar had broken entry into a home, got stuck in the garage and couldn’t get out for a few days because the house owners were away on vacation? He survived by eating dog food stored in the garage. When the home owners got home, he of course was caught good and proper and was bundled off by the police. However, when the court heard his case – believe it or not, it was the home owner who was made the offender and the burglar the victim, because the “poor thing” was caught in the garage had to survive on dog food!!
I laughed when I read about it thinking this kind of stupidity can only happen in US. But guess what – it’s happened right here in Malaysia; unfortunately, to a person I greatly admire. I don’t personally know Irene Fernandez (though I bumped into her a few months ago and wished her well) but this woman’s heart for the helpless and her strength and courage have amazed me.
In 1995, Irene Fernandez had exposed the poor conditions at immigration detention centres in a memorandum entitled ‘Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised Conditions of Migrant Workers in Detention Centres’. She was arrested and charged a year later under Section 8A(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, 1984. This was a time when migrant workers were especially pouring into the country and many of them, illegally. Those caught were sent to detention centres which were probably ill-equipped to cater for the increasing numbers. The testimonies of these detainees on the atrocious treatment they received were pitiful. So when one woman had the audacity to reveal these conditions, she became the offender. She was sentenced to 12-month imprisonment in 2003 (after a 7-year trial) and was allowed bail pending appeal.
You see, in “those days,” we were not supposed to find fault with the almighty public servant, and we are all aware of how the judiciary was being manipulated at that time. After all – why make such a fuss over foreigners? That’s what troubles me. Instead of making a thorough investigation and checking out the statements recorded, the denials of the offenders was simply accepted as truth. A woman demanding that we treat humans as humans was found guilty “of maliciously publishing false news.” Yeah, I’m biased, because I am very aware of the kind of work this woman does. I mean why should she bother, especially to go to jail. It’s not her fight! It’s exactly that, that makes this woman admirable. We need more Irene Fernandez’s in this world.
There has been a whole lot of bungling that has lead to a delay in hearing her appeal. What with missing documents – statements of prosecution witnesses, computer viruses wiping out volumes of notes (haven’t they heard of back-ups?) It has been a 13-year court battle and she deserves a fair trial. Justice must be seen to done and the integrity of the courts is at stake here. More importantly – the accountability of those responsible for Detention Centres is the issue here and the trial has become a smoke screen to detract from the real issues of governance, responsibility and integrity of public servants.
Let’s get back on focus. Irene Fernandez needs to be commended for highlighting wrongs that need to be set right in our society. Go after the real rogues!
(Post script: Irene Fernandez has since been cleared of all charges and set free!! Finally!!)
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