Malaysia’s anti-graft agency urged to set clear rules for handcuffing suspects

Malaysia’s anti-corruption campaign cannot claim integrity if suspects are tried in the media, publicly humiliated or treated as guilty before a court rules on their cases. That is the warning from Jais Abdul Karim, president of Malaysian Corruption Watch, as debate continues over how corruption suspects are taken to court.

Jais called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, known as the MACC, to establish and publish clear, consistent and transparent rules governing the use of handcuffs and the transfer of investigation suspects to court. He said such rules would help prevent allegations of double standards and protect enforcement officers who must make decisions based on conditions at the scene.

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The anti-corruption struggle cannot be built through trial by media, public humiliation or punishment by perception before the court determines guilt.

The MACC recently decided to suspend, with immediate effect, the use of orange clothing for suspects brought to court for remand applications. MACC Chief Commissioner Abd Halim Aman said the decision followed recent developments and current recommendations concerning the handling of suspects, particularly during court transfers. Jais described the change as mature and professional, and consistent with the basic principle that a person under investigation is not guilty until proven guilty through legal proceedings.

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Remand is not a punishment. It is part of the investigation process.

“Remand is not a punishment,” Jais said. “It is part of the investigation process.” He argued that taking a suspect to court should not create the public impression that the person has already been convicted. Handcuffs, he added, should be based on professional risk assessments rather than used automatically or as a symbol of humiliation.

Those assessments should consider the risk of escape, aggressiveness, the safety of escorting officers and the public, the possibility of self-harm or harm to others, and the suspect’s health, age and physical capacity. Jais also said discretion must not become favoritism. Ministers, former ministers, politicians, civil servants, corporate figures and ordinary citizens should face the same standards, while suspect status should not justify degrading treatment.

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Discretion must not turn into favoritism.