The Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) has condemned the recent fatal shooting of four Indonesians by Malaysian police in Kuala Lumpur.
BNP2TKI head Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat said members of the Malaysian police had committed "barbaric actions" on Friday by shooting four men, identified as Wahyudi, 28, Hery Setiawan, 33, Iknoriansyah, 25, and Hapat bin Angang 40, who were accused of robbery in an affluent residential area of Kuala Lumpur.
"It seems the Malaysian police only consist of cowards and trigger-happy [officers]. They did not need to kill in order to subdue them. They [the deceased] are not terrorists," Jumhur said on Sunday.
According to Malaysian newspaper The Star, the four men were killed in a shoot-out with the police in an apartment on Jl. Ampang Putra, Kuala Lumpur, on Friday.
The police believed the four were members of the notorious Gang Ah Fatt gang that has been targeting the residences of state officials and prominent figures since 2008.
Kuala Lumpur Police chief Sr. Deputy Comr. Datuk Mohmad Salleh said when his officers stormed the apartment, one of the suspects opened fire in the direction of the officers.
"My men had to return fire and all four robbers were killed in the fire fight," he said on Friday, as quoted by The Star.
The police recovered a pistol and several stolen items from the scene.
Jumhur, however, said the four Indonesians were not registered as migrant workers.
Meanwhile in Batam, the families of the victims' claimed the deceased were not criminals.
"We aren't sure if Wahyudi was involved in series of robberies. In the last two years, he worked at an oil palm plantation [in Malaysia]," Wahyudi's relative, Defri bin Nusa, said on Saturday.
Hery's wife, Nur Hidayah, claimed her husband made a meager living by working as a construction worker in Malaysia in the past six months.
Both Defri and Nur said they first knew about the shoot-out from a news program broadcast by the Malaysian television station, TV3. As of Sunday evening, no government officials had informed them of the incident.
"I just want Hery's body to be transported to Batam, so we and our children can see him for the last time," said Nur, the mother of two.
Friday's incident was the second fatal gunfight between the Malaysian police and alleged robbers from Indonesia.
On Oct. 9, three suspected robbers – identified as Hendra Razak, Muhammad Anuar and Risky Saputra – were killed by the police in a shoot-out on the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway in Kuala Lumpur.
The Malaysian Police have stepped up their fight against criminals in response to a spate of armed robberies and a brazen daylight killing of the Arab Malaysian Banking Group founder, Hussain Ahmad Najadi.
Last week, Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was criticized for his tough anti-crime measures. He was quoted as saying: "There is no need to give criminals any warning. If we get the evidence, we shoot first."
According to The Straits Times, Ahmad later defended his stance, saying that the "shoot first" policy was aimed at safeguarding both civilians and policemen who could be the victims of violence.
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