Walk the talk on human rights protections, rights group tells new unity govt

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 — The Society for Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) today urged the new Malaysian government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to meet the minimum standard of human rights in the country.

Proham said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s stance to defend the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) sparked concern over the direction of the human rights protections in the country.

“Sosma has long been recognised as an Act that does not fulfil the minimum standard of human rights; among others, it allows for detention without trial.

“It is disappointing that Saifuddin also indicated no intention of reviewing the act,” the group said in a statement.

They also called for the return of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) bill proposed in 2019 instead of the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) Act 2020, which was slated to be enforced in June next year.

“The new government should at least call for a dialogue with the civil society groups working on this effort, given its controversial nature that also goes against the spirit of the ‘reformist’ government,” it said.

Proham then encouraged the new government to adopt a more proactive and progressive role as a member of the UN Human Rights Council to avoid repeating the history of disappointing votes, citing its recent decision to not support investigations into human rights violations in Iran.

The group also called for a review and update of the National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP), the country’s commitments in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and other relevant documents.

“Malaysia remains far behind in its obligations to international human rights treaties with only three ratifications. We are among the lowest in signing them in the South-east Asia region.

“Now is the time for the new government to walk the talk and stand by its reformist principles guided by human rights and democracy to advance human rights protection in the country,” they said.

At a press conference yesterday, Saifuddin indicated that the Act would not be reviewed, stating that “the law allows the court process to take place”.

He said compared to its predecessor — the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allowed for detention without trial for up to 60 days — Sosma only enables suspects to be detained for up to 28 days for investigation.