Relatives and friends carry the casket of Teoh Beng Hock (Reuters)

Wendy Ferrer
Yahoo! Malaysia

Teoh Beng Hock’s death has stirred the anger of many Malaysians, and has forced the government’s hand into setting up a royal commission to investigate the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC)’s interrogation methods.

But strong public outrage has called for a probe into the circumstances of Teoh’s death, prompting a public inquest.

Attention shifts to underlying issues that will test the government’s system and policies, as well as test the new administration’s attempt to push for a ‘1Malaysia’ concept in a country where the majority of the 27 million-population are Malays but where there are big ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

The inquest will draw statements from 77 witnesses including 28 MACC personnel, journalists  ­–  as well as Teoh’s fiancée, Soh Cher Wei.

The probe into Teoh’s death also comes at a time when Prime Minister Najib Razak’s approval ratings soared after gaining stronger support from ethnic Chinese voters.

Ibrahim Suffian, head of pollster Independent Merdeka Centre which conducted the survey, was quoted in a Reuters report saying Teoh’s death has the potential to ‘drag down support levels of the government and Najib’.

The investigation has been adjourned to the 5^th of August, and is expected to be completed in 15 days.

But do you believe any good will come out of this inquest?