By Anil Netto
Just as the uproar over the Kugan case was beginning to subside.... now this. The death of Teoh Beng Hock, who was found dead on the fifth-floor rooftop of a complex, nine floors below the offices of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency, has left many feeling upset and uneasy.

Teoh had been hauled up for questioning as a witness into an investigation by the MACC. Many unanswered questions are circulating, the main ones being: why was Teoh denied access to a lawyer during questioning and why was he held overnight for interrogation?

It was not meant to be like this. The MACC was meant to play a leading role in the battle against corruption.

Teoh’s death is the latest — and the most high profile — in a string of deaths while in the custody of various enforcement or prison authorities.

In March, former Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar revealed that 2,571 detainees had died in the country’s prisons, rehabilitation centres and immigrant detention depots between 1999 and 2008.

He said they died as a result of illnesses — HIV/AIDS, septicaemia, tuberculosis, cancer, heart and blood diseases and asthma — suicides and fights.

Another 153 detainees reportedly died in police custody during the same period. Most of those who died are nameless and faceless — unknown to us.

Clearly, a thorough and wide-ranging probe is needed into conditions of detention and interrogation. Are prisoners and detainees provided quick and timely medical treatment should they require it? Do they have access to lawyers? What happens if they can’t afford lawyers? Can Legal Aid staff cope with all these cases, including migrant workers who are hauled up for various reasons.

Proper legal safeguards are also necessary to prevent any recurrences of such incidents and to eliminate the conditions that make it conducive for such incidents to occur.

A culture of accountability needs to be put in place. Any deaths in custody must be thoroughly investigated by an independent commission.

Teoh’s death has put the MACC in a poor light in the eyes of many. Many are calling for a royal commission of inquiry.

But, as the Lingam case has shown, even a high-level commission may not lead to a satisfactory outcome that can resolve weaknesses in the system.

Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, who chairs the Prevention of Corruption and Consultation Panel of the MACC said he was upset that the MACC was interrogating people overnight until early dawn. “No normal person can stand mental and physical pressure of this kind.”

He said reforms were also needed to improve the MACC to meet high public expectations. “It is becoming increasingly difficult for my MACC Panel to perform better as disturbing events like Teoh’s death will further aggravate the poor perceptions of the MACC’s performance, despite the dedicated work of most of its officers,” he was reported as saying.

The country badly needs an independent, anti-corruption body to spearhead the fight against graft. Such a commission must be independent, professional, and have a profound respect for human rights and legal norms.

Many are wondering if the MACC, as it is current set up, has what it takes to act impartially against politicians on both sides of the political divide, irrespective of the parties they belong to. Much of the public unhappiness has been due to the perception that the MACC was putting inordinate pressure on the Pakatan elected reps of Selangor.

Teoh’s death should not be in vain. The government must now work hard and make sweeping changes to restore public confidence in the MACC. Otherwise, it will be hard to win the public over — which is so crucial — in the battle against corruption, no matter where it exists.