Malaysia is on its way for re-election to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) next Thursday, May 13. Lately, the Malaysian government has apparently been busy boosting its human rights image in the international level.

After the diplomacy exercise on the newly-established Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in February and June 2009, Malaysia is now back in action to ‘prove’ its human rights record to the world. But we have yet to see concrete follow-up actions by the government in many areas as promised.

The HRC consists of 47 member-states elected by the majority of the members of the UN General Assembly. The voluntary pledges and commitments declared by the Malaysian government dated March 9 contained repetitions of the former pledges made to the HRC (formerly the Commission on Human Rights) in 2006.

On May 3, a media freedom report issued by Freedom House ranked Malaysia as ‘not free’ putting it behind neighbours Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. It is ironic that Malaysia is just a footstep away from securing a place on the HRC for a second term: 2010-2013. The last minute pull out of Tehran left Malaysia with no competitors together with Maldives, Qatar and Thailand for the four Asian seats.

The main issue, in general, is that the Malaysians are not well aware of UN mechanisms and how they work and their effect onto the country. Becoming a candidate for membership on the HRC will put more pressure on the government to do better at home, but Malaysia has apparently failed to do so during its 2006-2009 term.

It is timely for the Malaysian government to seriously think about educating the public on human rights if it was sincere in its bid to the HRC. After all, it is the people that matter. The government has been busy impressing the world of its human rights record. But what does this record mean?

Does membership of the HRC guarantee the protection of human rights for the people? Certainly not. The laymen are not either concerned nor aware of these mechanisms. This is the time to translate those commitments into action at the national level.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has in the past has constantly made suggestions on the need for the government to have a National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP).

Yet, the government has not shown any keenness towards this effort despite its fancy commitments at the international level. The February 2009 UPR review on Malaysia also placed an emphasis on the merits of an NHRAP to augment a state’s human rights standing.

Such a plan for Malaysia will provide a fundamental reference and guidance for action for many human rights issues and will, at least, raise human rights awareness among the general public. A number of countries in the Asia Pacific region have established such plans. In the Southeast Asia region itself, three countries with existing national human rights institutions have established their plans, ie, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines.

So does Malaysia deserve to sit in for another term on the HRC? From the ground, it is a straight ‘no’. Has the government shown sincerity in its promotion and protection of human rights in the country? Deep in our heart, we already know the answer.