MyWatch chairman Sanjeevan called it quits

PETALING JAYA - R. Sri Sanjeevan is a pale shadow of his former self. He has lost 15kg, shaved his head and wears a brace on his chest, hiding horrific surgical scars – no thanks to his close brush with death when a motorcycle pillion rider fired a shot at him in Bahau in July.

And he’s also a beaten man.

According to the crime watchdog leader, he has been beaten up and threatened many times, but the shooting was the last straw.

The MyWatch chairman is leaving his advocacy days behind, saying that continuing his work was “not worth another bullet or his family’s safety”.

“I am thinking of a natural death for MyWatch. As a patriotic Malaysian, I’ve done my part and have been beaten and shot at for it,” he told The Star in an interview yesterday at a location that he does not want to be disclosed.

However, the 29-year-old was visibly angry when lamenting about the alleged corruption in the country’s police force.

“Since I woke up, I’ve been told the police have locked up my informers and friends, like Ramesh Balakrishnan who was with me when I was shot. They accused him of being involved with drugs when he has been clean for three years,” he said.

While his NGO career may be over, Sanjeevan said he would continue being a Negri Sembilan exco member for PKR.

Following the surgery to remove the .38 slug which pierced through his right arm, Sanjeevan has lost mobility in the arm, and he grimaces in pain and grabs his chest while talking.

Sanjeevan suffered temporary amnesia and couldn’t even remember his own parents.

“But I remember now and I can remember everything that happened when I got shot.

“I had crab curry for lunch and was fetching my friend. When we were at the junction, the motorcycle pulled up and the pillion rider took out the gun.

“I saw his face. He was an Indian, fat and tall. He shot once and I felt the bullet go through my arm and my lung and into my side. I just thought: ‘I’m dead, I’m dead,’” said Sanjeevan.

Addressing allegations against him and MyWatch, Sanjeevan dismissed rumours about his involvement with drug lords and criminals as “smear tactics” to discredit him, though he conceded that some MyWatch members were former criminals.

“You must mix with these people to get information. The cops do it too. We believe in rehabilitating people but we have more than just ex-convicts. We have doctors and lawyers. We even had a former Inspector-General of Police!” he said, referring to Tan Sri Musa Hassan who has since left MyWatch.