Around April later year, the Bar Council has launched a book by the title “Police and Your Basic Rights” which was a noble action initiated by a group of lawyer known as TANGKAP (Tindakan Anti PenyalahGunaan Kuasa Polis).[i]  The book is well known among the public as “The Red Book”.  The main objective of this book is to educate the public generally about their rights when being confronted by police. This is because a mass majority of people do not know their basic rights and thus this leads too many problems.The Red Book was officially launched on the 20^th of April 2006 by Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Law also with the ex-President of the Bar Council, Mr. Yeo Yang Poh.[ii]  Each and every individual have certain rights guaranteed under our very Federal Constitution.[iii] The police have powers to stop, arrest and search an individual under the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)[iv] but these powers are limited.In this topic, I will discuss …

(This article is contributed by Derek Chong Ching Hsiang, Law Student of Univeristy Malaya)

Endnotes [i] The main objectives of this group is to create  justice for victims of police abuse in Malaysia where they involved in legal action to help redress violations of human rights by the Malaysian police against persons under their control.[ii] Article from the Bar Council website dated 20^th April 2007 by Cindy Goh Joo Seong and Will Fung Jui Seng. <http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/content/view/2841/2/>[iii] Interview with Edmund Bon on a recording file (Committee member, Human Rights Committee of the Bar Council) on 14^th September 2007.[iv] Act 593.