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Anwar speaks out about abuse

Malaysia's former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday an incident in which police allegedly forced a woman to strip and do squats showed that police abuse was a serious problem in the country and vowed to speak up against it.

"I was a victim myself and I know how painful it is," said Anwar, who was beaten up by the former national police chief while in custody in 1998, an incident which left him with a black eye.

"Nothing has changed," he said. "The government is not serious in taking action against abuses by the police."

Anwar was commenting on a video clip which showed a naked Chinese woman in custody doing squats while watched by a policewoman. It is not known who took the video -- which is also displayed on a Malaysian news Web site -- but it has sparked calls from outraged Malaysians for a probe into whether Chinese nationals are unfairly targeted by the Malaysian authorities.

Police have confirmed that the woman is a Chinese national and said they have identified the policewoman.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has ordered a thorough investigation and pledged that there will be no cover-up.

Anwar said the incident was not isolated and that such abuses happen to Malaysians as well.

"Police strip naked and assault people in custody. This happens to Malaysians of all races and foreigners," he said, adding that he himself had personally witnessed police abuses while being imprisoned.

"I saw thousands of [illegal immigrants] brought to prison after being arrested by police. They had virtually nothing with them. All their belongings had been taken away."

Malaysia's 80,000-strong police force has been accused of rampant corruption, abuse of power and mistreatment of detainees. The abuses were highlighted in a royal commission report earlier this year.

Anwar claimed that police had never expressed remorse for any of the abuses committed by them except in his case when the former police chief publicly apologized in an out-of-court settlement earlier this year.

He said he will speak up against police abuse while campaigning for the opposition in a by-election in the eastern Kelantan state next week.
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