Kepong Mp Calls Out Police Hypocrisy Over Viral Ambulance Video

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Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng has criticised the police for their “blatant hypocrisy” and “abuse of power” in response to a criminal investigation launched against an individual who recorded a traffic officer last week.
Lim described that such actions should not be seen as a form of law enforcement, but as intimidation and abuse of power.
“Launching a criminal investigation against ordinary individuals over a misunderstanding is simply an abuse of power that cannot be accepted. Do the Malacca police not have more serious crimes to be addressing?” he said in a statement today.
Yesterday, Malacca police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said that the individual will be investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, for his video, which has since gone viral on social media.
Earlier, Dzulkhairi also clarified that the traffic officer did not obstruct the movement of an ambulance, as claimed in the video, and that the siren heard in the recording was from the police escorting a delegation of investors from China.
In the viral video sighted by Malaysiakini, an ambulance is seen waiting behind a red traffic light. Across the road, a stationary police motorcycle is seen, believed to be coordinating traffic.
‘Harsh’ application of law?
Lim branded the Malacca police chief’s actions as the “highest level of hypocrisy”.
The DAP lawmaker contrasted the incident with how the police had initially circulated uncensored videos of several individuals who were caught in the Kuala Lumpur sauna raid a few weeks ago, exposing their identities to the public.
Malacca police chief Dzulkhairi MukhtarLim also described the incident as dehumanising and a violation of human rights.
“Why is an ordinary citizen being investigated for filming the traffic police, while police officers who allegedly leaked ‘nude videos’ of civilians continue to be protected? Are our laws only harsh towards ordinary people, while being soft on the authorities?
“The assertion that ‘police can record, while the public cannot’ is the highest level of hypocrisy. It insults the intelligence of the rakyat and destroys public confidence in the police force,” he added.
He further pointed out that not a single officer has since been investigated or charged for exposing the identities of the civilians caught in the sauna raid.
Lim also called upon the government to immediately put an end to the culture of police intimidation, urging them to acknowledge the rakyat’s democratic rights to record police operations to prevent abuse.
“The public has the right to record and livestream during police operations, as long as it does not obstruct enforcement duties. This is a basic practice in democratic nations to prevent the abuse of power,” he stressed. - Mkini

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