Latheefa has done away with the MACC’s infamous orange t-shirt printed with the words ‘Lokap SPRM’ that its detainees are required to wear.
Suspects arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will no longer be made to wear the orange lock-up uniform when they are produced in court, a practice which sparked criticism from rights lawyers who say it is a violation of prison regulations as well as constitutional rights.
This is part of several reforms by the anti-graft commission under its new chief Latheefa Koya who is expected to announce it officially tomorrow.
“I have given orders that all persons arrested by MACC no longer have to put up with the orange uniform,” Latheefa said in an interview with FMT today.
“No more orange uniform.
“We have done away with it. We still have the t-shirts if they choose to wear them but they must tell us in writing that they want to wear them,” she added.
Suspects can now attend remand hearings in their own clothes and will only wear the orange suit in the lock-up.
This is one of Latheefa’s first decisions since taking charge of the anti-graft agency last month.
The former lawyer-cum-activist said this is because those held in remand were only suspects who have yet to be convicted of crime.
“We believe that they are innocent until proven guilty,” she said.
In 2017, MACC came under criticism over its practice of producing graft suspects in court clad in the commission’s orange lock-up suit.
Among the critics were rights lawyer N Surendran, who said it was a violation of prison regulations, civil as well as constitutional rights.
Then chief commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad had however defended the practice.
Among high-profile suspects who were brought to court clad in the orange suit were former Felda chairman Isa Samad, Penang exco Phee Boon Poh and Parti Warisan Sabah chief Shafie Apdal.
Some were outraged when former prime minister Najib Razak was not made to wear the t-shirt when he was arrested and brought to court by the MACC.
MACC is required to produce the suspect in court when applying for a remand order.
Usually, a suspect is remanded when investigators need to question the suspect further or gather sufficient evidence for prosecution.
Suspects may be handcuffed when brought to court.
Latheefa said a decision has also been made regarding the handcuffs but declined to say more.
“There will be an update about it soon.”
She said today she did not realise that the MACC employed investigation and interrogation methods that were even more sophisticated than the police’s.
“MACC has gone through tremendous transformation over the years. Its interrogations are very sophisticated. It’s far more sophisticated than what I’ve seen in police lock-ups.
“MACC has gone through a major transformation,” she said, adding that the change was a direct result of the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock.
“They have had a major shake-up to fix things.”
She said she hopes to improve communications to change the negative public perception of MACC’s questioning methods.
“There’s a gap in communication, I hope to rectify that. We want to improve on rights of detainees to access their lawyers and provide sufficient break times.”
Before taking on the MACC chief’s post, Latheefa was an outspoken activist on issues of unlawful arrests, misuse of power, and detention conditions.