Rela!

[sishow]

Just watching Aljeezera TV report on the Rela organisation. "A group of armed volunteers that check for illeagal immigrents". They have the power to stop and search anyone/site for illeagal immigrtants. they have the power to arrest and detain people without id on them. Amnesty International have been complaing since there powers were extended 2 years ago, with a large number of complaints about them ignored by local gov.

Now I haven't been to Maylasia, but has anyone ever been questioned by these vigilantes before? Or do they just concentrate on other Asian nations. Seems very scar1 y

[Nicke]

I have never heard about them or seen them, maybe Malaysian or Nautilus know more about this.

[Nautilus]

Yes these so called RELA are real PEST !!!

Public have asked for these people to be removed, but as usual nothing done.

Lots of incidents in papers reporting them misuse of power, going to people's home as they like, even asking illegal immigrants for bribe, so they wont be harmed.


Most of the time they will be at construction areas, where lots of illegal immigrants work. Doubt you will see them at popular tourist areas.

[Nautilus]

Global rights watchdog: Disband Rela (Malaysiakini)
Thursday, 10 May 2007
An international human rights watchdog said the Malaysian government should disband Rela (People's Volunteer Corps) on grounds of repeated complaints of abuse and unlawful behaviour towards migrant workers.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement today that it has documented many instances of such abuse this year alone including:

• (April 5) Volunteers arrested some 20 Burmese refugees and asylum seekers at a market in Kuala Lumpur, of whom at least five had been officially recognised as refugees by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

• (late March) Eight members of a team removed belongings worth RM1,800 from one dwelling and were detained on robbery charges

• (March 8) An officer detained an Indian immigrant with identification certifying his legal status. It took four days for the worker's employer to obtain his release from a detention camp for illegal immigrants.

• (March 6 and 7) Volunteers who were to have handed out flyers related to court orders helped a developer evict 50 families and tear down houses in Kampung Berembang. They operated bulldozers and were also alleged to have used excessive force.

• (March 2) 10 volunteers raided a factory in Jenjarom, Selangor, injuring two Nepalese workers and detaining eight others.

• (January 28) Rela raided in Kampung Sungai Merab, Denkil, resulting in the arbitrary arrest of 14 persons recognised as refugees by UNHCR.

“Rela volunteers (who are) fully uniformed, armed and unaccompanied by police or immigration officers, often employ unnecessary force and illegal policing practices,” the HRW statement said.


It also listed Rela’s modus operandi in, for example, breaking into migrant lodgings in the middle of the night without warrants and brutalising the occupants and extorting money from them.

“(They also) confiscate cell phones, clothing, jewelry, and household goods, before handcuffing migrants and transporting them to detention camps for ‘illegal immigrants’,” it stated.

Distinction ignored

The organisation said Rela members have failed to distinguish or have deliberately ignored the distinction between undocumented immigrants, and refugees and asylum seekers.

“At other times, volunteers have refused to recognise a worker's legitimate immigration status ... volunteers have been known to deliberately destroy identification cards proving a worker's right to be in Malaysia.

“Rela's behavior has embarrassed the government into announcing some minor reforms but tinkering with raiding procedures or upgrading training will not get to the fundamental issue, which is that Rela should be disbanded.”

Almost half a million volunteers are authorised to help maintain public order, primarily through the arrest of undocumented migrant workers.

According to the home ministry, the role of Rela is “to help maintain security in the country and the well being of the people” as the eyes and ears of the government since 1972.

However, in 2005, the corps was given more power to stop ‘any person suspected as terrorist, undesirable person, illegal immigrant or an occupier’.

“The government has set up what's little more than a vigilante force to target foreigners. Given Rela's repeated abuses, it should be disbanded right away,” HRW added.

[Nautilus]

Rela’s antics shock producer
By By MEERA MURUGESAN

25 May, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR: “Come, come Bangla!” This was the derogatory manner in which an Indian fi lm producer, detained by Rela offi cers on Monday, was allegedly addressed before being surrounded by up to seven men and shoved into a van on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant.

Michael Menke, a German fi lm producer and close friend of the victim, said the incident was “shocking and disgusting” and had left his 33-year-old friend “shaken and scared”.

“These men were not in uniform and didn’t identify themselves and when they surrounded him, he thought he was about to be kidnapped and robbed,” said Menke in a phone interview from Penang.

The incident had earned the ire of Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who had slammed Rela for its insensitive approach to foreigners.

Menke and the victim had arrived last Sunday to shoot a series called Dream Hotel for a company called Bollywood Movies Ltd. The project is commissioned by an Austrian fi lm company, Lisa Films.

“My friend sounded so frightened when he called me. He said there were people surrounding him and he was scared they were going to take him away.” The victim, who left for Mumbai on Friday, had gone to Petaling Street at 9.30pm on that day to buy gifts for his two children.

“He was getting ready to leave and was looking for a taxi when those people surrounded him,” said Menke.

The German said his friend, an up-and-coming producer who owns his own production company in India, had tried to explain to the Rela offi cers that although he didn’t have his passport with him, he had documents proving that he was a fi lm producer.

“But the Rela offi cers refused to entertain him and he was chucked into a truck with other foreigners, and taken to an offi ce in Chow Kit,” he said.

Terrifi ed, the victim sent an SMS which read: “Police, Chow Kit, behind Pizza Hut” to Menke.

Menke, who is unfamiliar with Kuala Lumpur, spent hours frantically trying to locate his friend at three different police stations before fi nally making his way to the Rela offi ce in Chow Kit with a Malaysian friend after receiving the SMS.

By then, the Indian national had been detained for about three hours. He was released after Menke produced his passport.

Both men arrived back at their hotel at 1am.

“In every country, there may be problems with illegal immigrants but this is not the way to treat people. They literally kidnapped him and he went through a frightening experience.” Menke, who has shot the series Dream Hotel in Mexico, South Africa and Dubai, met the Indian producer two years ago when fi lming in India.

They decided to collaborate to shoot the series in Malaysia because the victim has contacts with local production houses.

“We came here to do this series which would have helped boost tourism to Malaysia but ended up going through such a traumatic experience,” said Menke.

“Somebody should be held accountable for what happened.

Imagine if a Malaysian were to come to Germany and they were shoved into a van because of their looks? People should be treated with respect.”

[Nautilus]

Some more articles...RELA archive at Migration Malaysia

[MrDK]

A "little" OT. Un-uniformed arrests are legal in the US. You do not have to be an officer of the law or the court to arrest someone. It is called a "citizen's arrest". Your powers are limited, but you can detain a person till an officer is summoned. Technically it is possible for a private citizen to arrest a police officer.

Lately we have had a group in the US called "The Minutemen" they would voluntary patrol the border to Mexico and arrest illegal immigrants till the authorities could be summoned.

... now back to Malaysia

[brit]

Most countries have some form of citizen arrest, here in the UK you don't even have to be a citizen. The standard though is that you have to catch someone red-handed or be 100% sure they've just commited a crime; this stop & search goes way beyond that...in UK even the police couldn't legally search someone in the street if they knew they were an illegal alien...

[sishow]

Originally Posted by MrDK

A "little" OT. Un-uniformed arrests are legal in the US. You do not have to be an officer of the law or the court to arrest someone. It is called a "citizen's arrest

Originally Posted by brit

Most countries have some form of citizen arrest, here in the UK you don't even have to be a citizen. The standard though is that you have to catch someone red-handed or be 100% sure they've just commited a crime;

Yeah but in citizens arrest, in the UK anyway, the Citizens are not armed with high power machine guns and rifles!

In the Uk now, Im not sure how much legality is involved with a Citizens arrest! As even with 'uniformed police helpers' or support officers, THey cannont arrest people by themselves. They have to be with a regular trained police officer and THEY have to arrest you. All the support officer can do is call for back up or offer advice!

In America may be different due to the pretty much gun-ho attitude of the whole nation. Not sure I would run if a yocal pointed a high powered hand gun at me. Id wait for the police at least!

[Nautilus]

Tuesday May 29, 2007


Food court operator sues Rela

SEREMBAN: A food court operator has filed a suit against Rela for alleged abuse of power and corruption.

Chen Yau Choy, 57, claimed that Rela officer Mohamad Yusof entered his Cahaya Food Court in Ampang, here, and displayed his firearm without any reason, scaring away customers.

He named Mohamad, the Rela director-general, the Selangor Rela director, the Hulu Langat district Rela chief and the Government as defendants in the suit filed through his lawyer Haresh Mahadevan at the Bangi Sessions Court last week.

He is seeking damages from the defendants as well as a public apology from Mohamad.

In his statement of claim, Chen said Mohamad led a group of Rela personnel to the food court at 12.30am on Feb 16 last year and took four of his workers into custody.

He claimed that one of the Rela members asked Chen to go to the Rela office in Ampang where they sought and obtained RM2,000 as an inducement to release the detained workers.

However, a few hours later, Chen was asked to return to the Rela office in Hulu Langat where they demanded and obtained another RM2,000.

In his statement of claim, Chen said one of his partners sought the assistance of a state assemblyman and lodged a police report the following day.

Two days later, Mohamad came with a team of Rela officers to the food court at 9pm to detain Chen but was unsuccessful as Chen called the police.

A few hours later, Mohamad returned with his team and detained and handcuffed Chen.

Chen said he was detained in a police lock-up at the Ampang police station for 11 hours.

He claimed his detention was a violation of his freedom and was illegal.

Food court operator sues Rela

[Nautilus]

Farking PEST !!!

They are getting more and more dangerous.