KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) has today demanded Putrajaya make data involving prison and detention centres more accessible to the public as it would be helpful for relevant agencies to take action in case of any irregularities.
In a report dubbed “Reforming Prisons and All Places of Detention Moving Into the Endemic Phase in Malaysia”, the civil society said that data such as budget allocation should be made transparent so prisons can improve their conditions.
“Government or relevant agencies should proactively provide information and data concerning prisons and Immigration detention centres as this would assist relevant stakeholders and agencies to be ready to respond to any changes or situations.
“This also includes streamlining and centralising data from different government agencies,” Suaram activist Azura Nasron said during the report’s launch in Concorde Hotel here.
Apart from budget allocation, she said that the prison population should subsequently be broken down into different categories such as, among others, women, children, elderly, migrants and refugees, and ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples.
Azura added that gender-diverse and queer persons should also be considered in data collection as the challenge to have a more comprehensive, gender-inclusive dataset persists due to the invisibility of this community.
Suaram also urged the government to implement a human rights-based approach in all its practices concerning human beings and in prisons no less.
“A human rights-based approach is fundamental as it covers principles such as equality and non-discrimination, accountability, participation, empowerment, and legality.
“Non-discrimination entails that all human beings should be given equal protection of the law and are entitled to all rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,” she added.
Other than that, Suaram said Malaysia needs to shift its focus to applying the restorative justice approach similar to countries like Norway and Sweden and also placing more emphasis on the normalisation and reintegration of all persons deprived of their liberty into society.
Azura also mentioned that government needs to pursue “alternative to detention” especially for undocumented children which will allow for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants to reside in the community with freedom of movement while their migration status is being resolved or while awaiting deportation or removal from the country.
Lastly, the group said that the government should continue to work with relevant stakeholders to improve the institutions and leverage on the experiences and pool of resources on the ground that would enable them to deal with issues and challenges with ease and support, instead of working alone.
