Parliament today rejected an emergency motion to debate the death of a 19-year-old student shot dead by the police two weeks ago.

Dr Hasan Ali (PAS-Parit Buntar) submitted the motion to speaker Dr Mohamed Zahir Ismail last Thursday, asking the House to adjourn its proceeding and discuss urgently the death of V Vikines who was killed in a shoot-out with the police in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

The PAS leader stressed that the case was specific as Vikines was punished and shot dead before he was even proven guilty in court.

"This has violated the rights to life of a person which is stipulated under Article 5 of the Federal Constitution and it is also an infringement of basic human rights," he said in his motion.

Mostly Indian victims

Hasan added that statistics showed an alarming increase in the number of deaths from police shoot-outs. He claimed 1.3 people were killed every week.

"This concerns public interest because most of those killed were from the Indian minority in the country who do not control either political or economic power. Malaysian Indians made up 75 percent of the victims while the community is only 10 percent of the total population in the country," he said.

Rejecting the motion in chamber, the speaker said it was merely an "allegation".

In his written reply to the MP, Mohamed Zahir said he obtained an explanation from the police who claimed that Vikines (right) was involved in at least 20 armed robberies, was wanted by the police and was shot dead because he fired on the police first.

"The motion (by Hasan) is therefore an allegation, not a fact (kenyataan)" the speaker explained, adding that the issue could be brought up at the ongoing debate of the 2004 budget.

In a press conference held at Parliament later, Hasan expressed his disappointment over the rejection. He said the reason for turning down the motion was "not strong enough" although he respected the speaker's decision.

"I am of the opinion that we should listen to both sides. So far, we have only heard from the police," he said.

"The wide coverage from the media on this incident has raised public concern and the police must clear the allegation against them," the Parit Buntar MP added.

Legal action

Also present with the opposition MP were Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim) pro tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar (left) and its Police Watch and Human Rights committee chairperson RN Rajah who led a delegation of 35, including Vikines' parents, to Parliament.

Uthayakumar, who is also acting as the family's lawyer, said legal action against the authorities concerned for causing the death of the student will be the final resort.

"Once we bring it to the court, it will be very difficult for us to campaign for justice for Vikines and his family. Only after we have exhausted all avenues, will we consider legal action," he said.

He described the police's refusal to meet with Vikines' family as "high-handedness, arrogant and barbaric".

Uthayakumar also said the incident has led to Vikines' family being labelled as a "criminal family" and their neighbours were distancing themselves.

Meanwhile, the deceased's mother, K Thenmoli, continued to press on with her son's innocence.

"My son is innocent, that's why I am sitting here. I need an explanation for his death. I want to see justice done," she said.

Five police reports have been lodged on the matter so far.

According to the police, Vikines and two others, Puvaneswaran 24 and T Kathiravan,25, were shot dead after they ignored orders to surrender and opened fire on police personnel in Nilai last Friday.

The trio, who hailed from Klang, were said to be responsible for a spate of armed robberies but Vikines' family claimed that the youth was nothing more than an innocent schoolboy.