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A message for M'sia on International Human Rights Day
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LETTER | As Malaysia joins the world in commemorating International Human Rights Day on December 10, perhaps this is a good time to reflect on our own human rights record.

This year, Human Rights Day will kick off a year-long campaign to mark the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was proclaimed on Dec 10, 1948.

Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM), a coalition of 27 NGOs of diverse background, is sad to note that the past year has not seen any significant improvement of human rights in Malaysia.

To list all the violations of human rights in Malaysia in 2017 would probably take too much space. However, the experience of various GBM member organisations in the past year is enough to illustrate the sad state of human rights in Malaysia.

On Feb 21, 2017, Lena Hendry (photo), a former programme coordinator of Pusat Komas, a member organisation of GBM, who was charged with airing the documentary “No Fire Zone” in a Pusat Komas event in 2013 without approval from the Malaysian Censorship Board, was found guilty under the Film Censorship Act 2002.

On Mar 22, 2017, she was sentenced to pay a fine of RM10,000. The documentary touches upon the alleged war crimes committed against the Tamil community in Sri Lanka’s civil war.

The case reflected the growing threat against the freedom of expression in Malaysia. It also set a dangerous precedent that it is now unlawful for people to document and screen videos without sending their videos to the Film Censorship Board for approval.

On May 24, 2017, three activists from the Citizen Action Group on Enforced Disappearance (Caged) – Sevan Doraisamy, Thomas Fann and Rama Ramanathan – were questioned by the police following an order by then Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar through a Twitter posting.

Caged is a coalition of NGOs that aims to monitor cases of enforced disappearance in Malaysia following the mysterious abductions of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat, and the disappearance of Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife, Ruth.

Rama was representing Bersih 2.0 while Sevan and Thomas (photo) were respectively representing Suaram and Engage, which are member organisations of GBM.

The National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has initiated a public inquiry into the allegations of enforced disappearances, which is still ongoing.

These cases of suspected enforced disappearances are a worrying trend that has emerged in 2017 and added to the already bloated list of human right concerns in Malaysia.

On Aug 16, 2017, Ho Yock Lin, former president of the All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), a member organisation of GBM focusing on women’s rights and Ivy Josiah, a women’s rights activist, were questioned by the police for their involvement in the “Free Maria” walk.

The Free Maria walk (photo) was held on Nov 23, 2016 when more than 500 women marched from Padang Merbok to the Parliament building, demanding that Maria Chin Abdullah, chairperson of Bersih 2.0, be released from detention under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) for her role in organising the Bersih 5 rally.

The questioning, which was held nine months after the event, was another example of assault against freedom of assembly.

This was ironic considering that the walk itself was intended as a protest against the police’s detention of Maria, which was itself another example of attacks on the freedom of assembly as well as an example of abusing a law which provides for detention without trial.

The Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), another member organisation of GBM, has also become a victim of the narrowing space of human rights in Malaysia.

In 2017, several books published or distributed by the organisation were banned by the Home Ministry under the Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984.

On Sept 25, 2017, Mustafa Akyol, a respected international scholar on Islam, who was invited as a speaker for a series of talks on Islam organised by IRF, was briefly detained and questioned by the police and the religious authority Jawi for allegedly teaching Islam without official credentials.

Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa (photo), chairperson and director of IRF was questioned by Jawi on Oct 2, 2017 under Section 43 of the Shariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 for allegedly abetting Mustafa Akyol.

Considering all these depressing developments, it is hard to be optimistic about the state of human rights in Malaysia for the year 2018 and beyond. However, we do not have the luxury of giving up or slowing down.

As the world marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2018, and Malaysia to have its 14th general election, Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia urges all Malaysians to stop this rot by taking up the cause of human rights.

We must stand firm and strive hard for a Malaysia that is united by human rights and human dignity, which should demonstrate these characteristics:

  • Freedoms of thought, speech, assembly and association, and by extension religious, linguistic and cultural inclusion, protected from both state and private encroachment;
  • Governments chosen through free and fair elections, with effective mechanisms to curb distortions of the electoral mandate and the under-representation of women and minorities;
  • Impartiality and integrity of the judiciary, Attorney-General’s Chambers, bureaucracy, police, military and all other unelected public institutions;
  • Socio-economic inclusion and sustainable development to ensure everyone can live with their basic needs fulfilled, and receive equal opportunity to pursue life goals and dignity.

Only in a Malaysia where everyone’s rights as humans are guaranteed, can we have sustainable unity, prosperity and stability.


ZAID KAMARUDDIN is chair of Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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