Aku tak…RELA?
suaramerdeka.com
Malaysia’s tendency of re-instating outdated and irrelevant forces is unbecoming of a nation gearing towards modernization and development. Malaysia’s struggle as a democratic nation with dictatorial preferences places the nation in a dichotomous dilemma – sugarcoated promises of unity and way forward but in reality, we are a nation ruled by insecure politicians. We have seen how the Internal Security Act, an Act originally enacted to tackle the communist insurgence, exploited to keep dissent at bay and muffle public opinion, and the Ikatan Relawan Rakyat Malaysia, or RELA as they ominously known, formed in 1972 to assist in local security during times of unrest used as an extension of authorized armed forces dealing with illegal immigrants.
As the name implies, relawan, or voluntarily, members of RELA consist of everyday citizens concern about peace and security. However, Malaysia is no longer facing the threats of communism and Indonesian confrontations. There are new threats, new crimes, new social problems that came with the country’s obsession with rapid developments. In a short period of time, we see a boom in migrant population brought in to work in plantations and construction sites. We see migrants filling up positions unattractive to Malaysians themselves. Because we need labour, we opened our doors to foreign workers and when we couldn’t handle the sudden influx, we appoint armed men to round them all up.
How is it then, that RELA is being mobilized, with full authority, to detain, question and nab migrants, illegal or otherwise? RELA members, with little or no proper training, are authorized to carry firearms.
The most training that members go through is a 7-day handling course. Now with approximately 1.3 million members, there is a lack of capacity to subject all to training, and the ones from the rural areas sit through a one-day basic RELA course! Not only do they lack in proper firearm training, they also lack in understanding and abiding by our national laws and policies relating to wildlife. They also fail to, or not concerned with, distinguishing between undocumented migrants, and refugees and asylum seekers.
The recent killing of a juvenile tiger in Perak caused uproar among wildlife conservationists and environmentalists. Of course, this issue was belittled by RELA officials, steadfast in their belief that what they did was to protect the villagers. In a Star article dated June 25th, 2010, director-general Datuk Zaidon Asmuni said that the RELA member found the tiger behind a friend’s house after going in search for it when he was alerted by a villager, then later defended the shooting by saying, “I would have done the same thing if I was in Mohd Sulong’s position as he was caught by surprise.” Now, how can Mohd. Sulong be caught by ‘surprise’ when he went LOOKING for it in the first place?
In a joint statement produced by MYCAT, it is not the first time RELA members engaged in misconduct. In 2004, a RELA member was charged for killing a tiger in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. The tiger was discovered with its internal organs missing and was believed to have been shot by the man after villagers sighted it in the forest. Last October, two RELA members were arrested by the Pahang Wildlife Department for using their shotguns to kill two mousedeer in Rompin, and just earlier this year, nine Orang Asli; two of whom were RELA members were detained for snaring and torturing a tiger in Sungkai, Perak.
On top of that, during a recent work trip to Terengganu, I learned of another RELA nuisance: RELA members go out into the forests to hunt. These villagers who joined RELA are issued with shotguns which they use to hunt jungle fowls. Because of the non-existent training, for a lack of a better word, accidents happened where villagers were accidentally shot at. These cases may be rare, but the fact that it has happened should not be an oversight.
A RELA high official acknowledged that mishandling of firearms does take place among RELA members and that it is frowned upon. RELA members are forbidden to hunt and in the case of migrants can only detain migrants without proper traveling documents. But unfortunately, with great power and little knowledge, abuse of power is inevitable.
The issue I wish to raise here is not to question the need for local or national security, but the extent of it. The number of RELA members is almost, if not equivalent to the number of immigrants in Malaysia. Instead of working towards monitoring the trafficking of migrants into the country by contractors and imposing tighter control on this multi-million business, the government opted for inexperienced and gung-ho beret-clad vigilantes to run amok on our streets. Refugees and asylum-seekers escaping their home countries in search of a better life find themselves as fugitives and criminals. What makes it worse is that there is no provision in Malaysia that recognizes refugees and the UNHCR cards are proved to be useless.
The problem is not the illegal immigrants, or refugees, or asylum-seekers. The problem lies in the system itself. Human trafficking exists in Malaysia whether we like it or not but the government has not done anything substantial to acknowledge it, let alone address it. Instead, they punish and stigmatized these people. If we need their labour, (and surely we have room for them), then proper guidelines must be drawn to ensure their safety, that their basic human rights are protected and that they are viewed and treated like any other person and not a thing. There are better ways to deal with undocumented migrants than to shove them in cramped and unhygienic cells. It is appalling how these illegal immigrants are treated in Malaysia. Labour laws should and must be reviewed and Malaysia should recognize and be party to the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention Protocol.
And for human-wildlife conflict, we have only ourselves to blame. Because Malaysia’s economy is heavily dependent upon agricultural revenues, we have impinged and destroyed their habitats to make way for rubber and oil palm plantations and the dwindling number of prey had caused tigers to hunt nearby villages where poultry and cattle stock are available. There are many alternatives to address this problem and many organizations in Malaysia specialize in such matters. Engagement and co-operation must take place so that our majestic tigers and other wildlife can be preserved.
Malaysia does not need armed forces to patrol our streets for illegal immigrants and refugees when other crimes, like snatch theft, car jacks and break-ins are rampant. We do not need our tigers killed off when illegal poaching or wildlife abuses in theme parks take place regularly. Our ministers, politicians and decision-makers seem to always, always focus on menial issues or get distracted when there’s a public outcry. No doubt our police and army forces have done so much for our country, but we can do better and we have to start looking into alternative solutions, not by looking backwards because we are not in the 60s anymore. If we are so in need of extra officers, then proper training, clear standard operating procedures and tight monitoring must take place to curb violations and abuse of power.
