The Otherside.

It’s like a big joke. Suddenly, and as always, Malaysians are up at it again, talking about human rights and official police conducts. Why now? And more importantly, why again?

Supposed if you had been living in Malaysia as long as I did, read almost every single political scandal with as much zest as I do, you would have understood what I meant.

The death of teenager Aminulrasyid Amzah was a tragic one, I admit but nonetheless, I can not help but feel the urgent need to throw in some questions lying in the grey area of this fatal accident. (Yes, it’s an accident.)

Allow me, to ask my first question. The alleged shooting took place at 1am – 2am local time. My question here would be what is a boy, a 14 years-old boy, doing driving around at 1am – 2am? According to Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) Malaysia rulings, an individual can only be allowed to be behind the wheels of a car if he/she is 17 years old from the date of birth and possesses a driving license recognized by the JPJ. Quoting Assoc Prof Dr Teoh Hsien Jin, as far as law was concerned, such an act was an offense.

This brings me to my second question. The accused, Kpl Jenain Subi, was conveniently scapegoated for the alleged fatal shooting. It was also claimed by the police that the 14 year old driver, along with his friend, 15 year old Azamuddin Omar, was given chase for a 6 km stretch before the car crashed. My question here is, while being asked by the Kpl Jenain Subi to stop, along the 6km chase, why didn’t Aminulrasyid do as told by an officer? According to the law, while being asked to stop by a police officer, one must comply, regardless of the situation. He/she can ask the officer why are they stopped and what offense have they committed. If no specific answer was given by the police officer, one can just leave. But then again, should one not comply with a police officer’s order to stop, he/she is deemed as obstructing a police conduct and is therefore deemed as guilty.

Then, here comes my next question. Azamuddin Omar, who claimed to have held his dying friend in his arm, was there at the scene and was also present in the car during the chase. Azamuddin Omar is also the son of a policeman, which brings even more question about his understanding of the Malaysian law. Azamuddin Omar KNEW his underaged friend is doing something illegal. He knew that Aminulrasyid shouldn’t be driving at the tender age of 14, but did that stop him from enjoying the joyride at the middle of the night? I am to understand that a policeman should understand the law and his son or daughter are of no exception to the obeying the law and shall be persecuted like any other human in this land. Supposed you know your friend is doing something illegal, by keeping mum or not doing anything about it can be deemed as an act of condoning it, morally speaking, although in all legal term, arguably, the boy had done nothing wrong.

I have a lot more questions floating in my head right now, but after consulting a friend of mine, it’s best I just leave it here. Please be reminded that this view is purely mine and no one else’s, hence I take charge of all liabilities that may have incurred and a thousand apologies to those whom I may have offended. These messages are merely the questions of an individual who yearns to know more about the tragic death of a youth in his country.