TMI: Putrajaya’s reforms must be ‘tested on the ground’, says EU envoy..... By Shannon Teoh

Putrajaya’s reforms must be ‘tested on the ground’, says EU envoy

By Shannon Teoh

May 09, 2012

Piket says Najib’s law reforms appeared hurried but still represented progress in the right direction. — Pictures by Jack Ooi

KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — The European Union (EU) is “keenly interested” in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s reform package but believes the raft of legislative changes must “translate to positive effects on the ground”, says its envoy Vincent Piket.

The EU ambassador to Malaysia told The Malaysian Insider “EU countries would handle public assemblies differently”, just days after the April 28 Bersih rally, which has seen loud and growing allegations of police brutality in the aftermath. Putrajaya has said it will assemble panel to investigate violence against journalists.

“This whole series of laws passed by Parliament — a bit in a rush, maybe — but on the whole, present incremental progress.

“How these laws implemented on the ground, that is the test of the matter. Do the legal reforms translate to real positive effects on the ground?” Piket said in an interview ahead of Europe Day, which falls today.

He added that “EU countries would probably do things differently, handle public assemblies differently from current law,” referring to the newly-enforced Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

Najib had announced a slew of reforms in the last year, including the repeal of the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), forming a parliamentary panel on electoral reforms and a new law he said would allow for freedom of assembly in accordance with “international norms”, the largest set of changes in the country within three years.

The EU ambassador does not believe Malaysians would accept radical changes.

But the changes have been described as cosmetic by civil society and the opposition, and the April 28 sit-in at Dataran Merdeka was called by Bersih after the electoral reforms movement said it was disappointed with the findings of the polls committee.

At the rally, police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse tens of thousands, chasing them down several streets after some had breached the barricade around the historic square, which the courts had barred the public from entering across the weekend. Dozens of demonstrators have since recounted how they or other rally-goers were allegedly assaulted by groups of policemen.

The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has also said police conduct was unacceptable while the Bar Council alleged that police brutality was “magnified” from the previous rally for free and fair elections held last July.

But Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar has said that if police had not acted to disperse the crowd, an “open battle could have happened and created a more dangerous situation.”

Police have insisted they will investigate all claims “openly and fairly”, but so far have identified over 90 civilian suspects and no policeman yet in the ongoing probe over violence perpetrated by both protestors and enforcers.

However, Piket refused to “pass judgment” but said “what is key is the overall trend.”

“If you look at it, where we are now, compared to when I first came, I think there is positive progress that is undeniable in terms of greater space for debate, particularly in digital media,” said the ambassador who took up his post just after the landmark March 2008 election.

He added that the key is “where do we go from here” and noted that the government aims to turn Malaysia into a developed economy by 2020 “but also parallel with political transformation and turn Malaysia into this best democracy in the world.”

“I think it’s doable. I don’t think the Malaysian mentality is for radical change. It is more a country of gradual change, moving forward in consensual manner,” the Dutchman added.

Piket also pointed to Najib’s Global Movement of Moderates, to which British Prime Minister David Cameron had given his full support when he visited Malaysia last month.

“EU leaders feel (the movement) is a good initiative but are now trying to see how we can give it practical shape,” he said.

The 53-year-old, who has been with the EU for 20 years, said that one source of friction is “immigration from non-traditional source countries that puts a test on a society’s ability to integrate non-traditional cultures and religions.”

“It is a transition process, goes hand-in-hand with some friction but we can’t let that friction determine the agenda,” he said.

Malaysia has had to deal with the tension between Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnic groups in the peninsula since independence while the flood of migrants from Indonesia and the Philippines has overwhelmed Sabahans.

The home ministry embarked on the “6P” amnesty programme last year to either absorb or pardon and repatriate illegal migrant workers as conflicting concerns of labour shortage and the rise of social ills and crime came to a head.