The 125 ideas were drawn up and presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2005.

At a press conference organised by Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) on custodial deaths today, Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, who was a member of the RCI, said there was no way for the former commissioners to know the status of their recommendations aside from upgrades they could physically see, like those to police accommodation.

The most significant recommendation made by the RCI was for the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

“In 2015, the Bar Council organised a roadshow to push the government to implement the IPCMC. At the time, both Denison (Jayasooria) and I appealed to the government to call for a meeting of past commissioners so we could be briefed on what has been implemented, and what hasn’t.

“Our request for a meeting was not answered. I honestly don’t know how many have been implemented, but obviously, the IPCMC has not.”

Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said that according to their media monitoring, the eight widely reported custodial deaths in 2021 had already matched the total they recorded the whole of last year.

“It’s difficult to explain why, but it’s definitely worrying. We can only assume it’s a combination of a sense of impunity, poor health systems in detention centres and other factors,” he said.

He said the home ministry had also not been proactive in addressing the issue, as it did not provide updates into their investigations and accurate information into the true number of custodial deaths.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairman S Arutchelvan agreed, saying that for every case reported, there are likely many more that the public doesn’t hear about, particularly if family members of the deceased do not report the matter nor appeal for help.

“It is the responsibility of the government to actually come out with the figures. The figures quoted in the media and Suaram today might be a very conservative figure, the real figure could be much higher. Every death is very serious and shows a failure in the system.

“We are only looking at the cases in lock-ups that get highlighted by family members. There are also a lot of people who die in immigration detention centres and prisons.”