by Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Nov 18, 10

The Malaysians for Beng Hock support group, set up following the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock last year, is seeking 100,000 signatures in the next three months to push for the setting-up of a royal commission.

This is because they believe that the inquest, for which final submissions will be made on Dec 10, has not managed to answer questions surrounding the 30-year-old’s mysterious death.

To date, more than 5,000 signatures have been collected after drives at two events held in the past month, said organiser Ng Yap Hwa.

The group is also collecting signatures from parliamentarians, having launching this separate petition during the Galas by-election campaign period.

But according to coordinator Chong Kok Siong, they only managed to get the signatures of DAP MPs Teresa Kok and Teo Nie Ching, before they were detained by police for allegedly committing an election offence.

“The MP drive is ongoing but we are now prioritising the public petition as there is a sense of urgency because the inquest will conclude in December,” he said.

Demand for a Human Rights Act

The petition, which can be requested in hard copy or accessed online, is not only demanding a royal commission of inquiry but also a Human Rights Act.

“We (are appealing) to the government to enact a Human Rights Act in order to safeguard the basic human rights (and) proven incidents such as Beng Hock’s mentally torturous marathon questioning session where a witness was denied legal assistance during questioning, from happening again,” Chong said.

While the MP petition drive is ongoing, he said that their priority will be to get the 100,000 signatures from the public, before handing over the petition to the Prime Minister.

“We urge the public… to turn their unhappiness into hope, and to translate their sympathy into concrete actions,” he said.

Besides signing the petition, associations are urged to produced two banners reading “Justice for Beng Hock, truth for rakyat”, one to be sent to the support group and the other to display in their own office or centre.

The support group also intends to hold a “mammoth gathering” in Kuala Lumpur after they hit their target, but details will only be announced later.

More information about the petition can be found here.