The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) regards as inanity and/or mischief, unworthy of the established standards of quality reporting in journalism, the reporting of the nature our annual Human Rights Day celebration on Dec 8, 2018 to commemorate International Human Rights Day by several news outlets including The Star, The Sun Daily and Utusan Malaysia, among others.

Suhakam’s celebration was decided on Oct 18, 2018, in accordance with a date provided by the Prime Minister’s Office. 

For the record, Suhakam wholeheartedly supports the principle of the right to peaceful assembly.

The allegation by some individuals that Suhakam’s event with the presence of the prime minister is a "counter-rally" to disrupt the anti-ICERD demonstration on the same day is intended to tarnish the reputation of Suhakam in the eyes of the public and is gutter politics.

The writer is chairperson, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

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