8/14/2019 TheSun 2008-12-26 Page16 Fight for Rights Far From Over

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16 theSun | FRIDAY DECEMBER 26 2008

Fight for rightsfar from overdetention lawsPreventive detention laws suchas the Internal Security Act 1960(ISA), the Emergency (PublicOrder and Prevention of Crime)Ordinance 1969 (EO) and theDangerous Drugs (SpecialPreventive Measures) Act 1985(DDA) continue to be used againstsuspects. Recommendations forreform and/or repeal of the saidlaws by Suhakam, BN componentparties, the Malaysian Bar and civil

society have fallen on deaf ears.Torture, inhuman and

degrading treatment continue to beinflicted on detainees.

The recent story of former ISAdetainee Sanjeev Kumar Krishnanis a case in point. His allegationsof being forced to drink urine andbeing subjected to sexual acts haveyet to be properly investigated.Sanjeev is now confined to awheel-chair.

Even the usually conservativewere enraged when the ISA wasrecently used against a blogger,a journalist and a member ofparliament. All have since beenreleased after a tough fight in thepublic sphere and in the courts.

Pressure by civil societygroups appears to have beenyielding results with a slow butcontinuing process of releases of

ISA detainees. The home ministerhas said that as in March when hewas appointed to the position, therewere 75 detainees but the numbertoday is 46. Many more aredetained under the EO and DDA.

Freedom of speech curtailedThe right to freedom of

speech and expressioncontained in Article10 of the FederalConstitutionyet again came

under attack.Unjustifiablerestrictions havefound their way into

our laws, curtailingindividuals and the

media from speaking outagainst the government

and its policies.The year saw the

arrest of two

bloggers Raja Petra Kamaruddin(who writes on Malaysia-Today)and Syed Azidi Syed Aziz (whowrites on Kickdefella). Threats touse sedition laws have continuedto engender the climate of fear.

The print media have notbeen spared as well. NewspaperstheSun, Sin Chew Dailyand SuaraKeadilanwere asked to show causein relation to reports on sensitiveissues and for breaching printingguidelines reminiscent of the

infamous crackdown about 20years ago.

Open and honest inter-faithdialogue is still an illusory idealdespite the prime ministers callfor greater understanding anddiscussion on matters of faith andethnicity.

What appears to be mostdisconcerting is the perceptionthat the authorities adopt selectiveprosecution in dealing with freespeech issues. Under internationalrights norms, there is a clearprohibition of speech whichincites and advocates racial orreligious hatred that constitutesdiscrimination and hostility. Voicesof the intolerant such as politicianDatuk Ahmad Ismail who madedisparaging remarks about theChinese community are not metwith more justifiable and serious

action whereas political dissentand discussion not amounting todiscrimination or hostility are.

Freedom of assembly crushedOver the year, we saw

various peaceful

assemblies disrupted, andparticipants arrested. This is acontinuation of the trend from2007 and represents little hope forgreater police co-operation withassembly organisers.

In January, a rally against thepetrol price hike ended with manyarrests. In October, Hindu RightsAction Force (Hindraf) supporterswere arrested when attemptingto deliver a letter to the primeminister. In November, an anti-ISA

candlelight vigil was broken upby force. A member of parliament,an assemblyman and a lay personwere injured. Malaysiakini.coms

videographer was also arrested,and his video-camera confiscatedand recording tampered withbefore being returned to him.

As I write, the Ride for Changebicycling campaign by grassrootsmovement, Jerit, is being blocked,and its cyclists arrested andharassed by the police at almostevery leg of the nationwide tour.The campaign calls for a MinimumWage Act, a repeal of the ISA,comfortable housing for the people,price control of goods, returnof local council elections and adiscontinuation of privatisation ofbasic amenities such as water,healthcare and education.These issues have

been widely debatedin the public domain,yet are still deemedsensitive.

Human rightsdefender releasedSocial activist IreneFernandez finallywon her case aftera 13-year battle.However, her appealagainst her convictionwas not decided on themerits but ratheron the basisthat thetrial courtrecordswere not

complete for her appeal to beheard. The prosecution as such didnot oppose her appeal.

While Irenes case highlightedfundamental deficiencies in our

judicial system necessitating muchneeded reform, her investigationsand findings into the plight ofmigrant workers in detentioncamps continue to be ignored.

The government has failedto live up to the aspirations ofcivilised nations even after being

elected to sit on the prestigiousUnited Nations Human RightsCouncil. There are many moreproblems not just in relation tocivil and political rights but withregard to the economic, socialand cultural rights of our people.Of real concern is the wideningincome gap among our peoplehighlighting the need to re-thinkour economic policies.

Awareness and education abouthuman rights norms is far fromsatisfactory though there are signsthat Malaysians are waking upfrom their slumber.

Edmund Bon is the chairperson ofthe Human Rights Committee, Bar

Council. More informationabout the work of

the Committee

may be found athttp://www.malaysianbar.org.my/human_rights/. TheCommitteewasrecentlynominated

for theSuaram

HumanRights Award

2008.

by Edmund Bon Tai Soon

THIS year marks the 60thanniversary of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights(UDHR). While we celebrate it, itis also a time to reflect on somemilestones in respect of civil andpolitical rights in the country this

past year.

12th General ElectionOn March 8, the nation saw for thefirst time in 51 years, a significantrise in the number of oppositionmembers of parliament to 82 seatsout of 222 seats in the DewanRakyat. Five state governments fellto Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the worstshowing for the Barisan Nasional(BN) governing coalition.

Despite the historic win forthe Opposition, allegations ofcorruption, discrepancies andphantom voters in the electoralsystem continue to be raised byBersih, a coalition of oppositionparties and NGOs. PR claims thatif the problems had fairly beendealt with and the electoral systemproperly reformed, the Oppositionwould have taken the federal

government.Whether our electoralsystem is genuine, free and fairremains debatable. Until theEC comprehensively deals withthe criticisms of the system, theperception that our nationalelections are unjust for beingunduly weighed against theOpposition will persist.

Continuing state of emergencyIt is a little-known fact thatMalaysians still live under fouremergency proclamations the1964 Proclamation as a result ofthe confrontation with Indonesia,the 1966 Sarawak Proclamationfollowing a constitutional standoffthere, the 1969 nationwideProclamation after the May 13riots and the 1977 KelantanProclamation following a political

crisis there. The Malaysian Barhas called for the repeal of theseproclamations.

As a result of the proclamations,a raft of legislation were enactedgiving untrammelled powers tothe executive to legalise preventiveand arbitrary detention, regulatetrade unions and evict urbansettlers. These powers circumventdue process principles and therule of law. They were meantsolely to deal with specific conflictcircumstances which no longerexist.

The government has justifiedin Parliament the continued useof its emergency powers to keepthe peace. In the same answer, thegovernment noted that the conflictsituations which necessitated thefour proclamations have ended.

Under international humanrights law, states of emergencymay only be declared inexceptional circumstances whichthreaten the life of a nation andto the extent strictly requiredby the situation. The fact thatMalaysia is in what appears to bea permanent state of emergency isby itself a gross violation ofinternational law.

It is incredulousthat in 2008,peaceful Malaysiais still considereda nation wreckedby irrepressibleconflictnecessitatingemergency rule.

Use ofpreventive

Road show ... Participants of the Jerit campaign (above), an anti-ISA protester (below, left) and Fernandez, who was freed after 13-year legal battle.

NEXT: Roller-coaster year for economy/ Judicial reform