Human Rights Watch: Don't ignore Malaysia's poor record

Members of the United Nations have been urged by Human Rights Watch to scrutinise seriously Malaysia's very recent backslides on its human rights position when the country's record comes up for review in Geneva tomorrow.

In making the call, the international NGO's deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, went on to charge Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak with fooling many in the years following Malaysia's first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session in 2009.

Robertson said Najib appeared to loosen the laws in 2011 and 2012 to improve civil and political rights in the country but then overturned them again after BN, which has ruled the country for 56 years, was returned to power after the 13th general election in May this year.

"Malaysia's human rights record has taken an astounding turn for the worse in the past six months and it should not go unnoticed by countries in the UN Human Rights Council," Robertson said in a press statement released yesterday.

"The UPR session is a moment for concerned governments to tell Malaysian policymakers to reverse their course on rights."

The UPR process reviews the human rights situation of every UN member state once every four-and-a-half years, during which comments and recommendations from the other states are drawn.

Malaysia has already submitted its report, which will be discussed by the UPR tomorrow.

A coalition of 54 Malaysian NGOs, called Comango, has already picked the Malaysian report apart, saying it whitewashes the recent general election irregularities, intolerance to peaceful assembly, speeches and gatherings and also trampled on the rights of migrant workers.

HRW's Robertson (right) agreed with many of Comango's complaints. He cited at least three violations in October alone:

An activist from human rights group Koman, Lena Hendry, was arrested for screening a controversial Sri Lankan documentary;

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi publicly supported the use of lethal force against criminal suspects; and
Amendments were passed to Malaysia's Prevention of Crime Act (1959) to detain individuals merely accused of "serious crimes" for up to two years.

HRW noted that dozens of opposition activists have also been prosecuted under the Peaceful Assembly Act for organising rallies protesting the result of the general elections since May and a few were charged under the Sedition Act for speaking out against the government.

Even Najib's new reform laws, supposedly to promote human rights, had serious implementation flaws.

"Police permits disappeared, but the replacement Peaceful Assembly Act is similarly arbitrary," Robertson said.

"It prohibits moving assemblies, decrees many popular sites off limits and requires consultation with the police before an assembly can take place.

"During one such consultation, the police imposed 27 conditions on the would-be marchers, including the permitted wordings on banners and placards," he added.

HRW further noted that two supposedly neutral governmental bodies - the Registrar of Societies and Film Censorship Board - were also roped in for political purposes.

Robertson reminded the UN that Malaysia is a two-term member of the Human Rights Council and must therefore hold to the highest human rights standards.