Human rights situation in Malaysia going to the dogs, world told

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Malaysias dark side  the human misery and climate of fear caused by its national security laws  was exposed at a public meeting held at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday.

The meeting was attended by local and international rights activists and organisations who had come for the ongoing 58th Session of the Commission on Human Rights.

Those who spoke were unanimous in their condemnation of the Internal Security Act which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Cynthia Gabriel, executive director of Suaram  a watchdog set up after the infamous Operasi Lalang in 1987  said the human rights situation in Malaysia had deteriorated in 2001. Despite some steps forward such as reports and recommendations issued by Suhakam, 2001 was generally a grim year.

Arbitrary detentions in 2001 rose by 600 percent. The government took full advantage of Sept 11 as an excuse to detain people.

Former Internal Security Act detainee Abdul Ghani Haroon called for the release of detainees and for Anwar Ibrahim to be allowed medical treatment in Germany. He described his conditions of detention as a hell-hole. From day 1 to 20, I was not allowed any footwear. They made me walk blindfolded in handcuffs.

Its not just detainees who are persecuted and intimidated, revealed Bahirah Tajul Aris, wife of ISA detainee Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor. She said families of detainees were also victims of the draconian act. A detainees fiancee was prevented from entering Malaysia.

Never in my wildest imagination did I think that I would lose my husband to the ISA, that I would have be both father and mother to our children, responsible for putting food on the table and struggling for his release.

She reminded the audience of a hunger strike on planned by the detainees and their supporters for April 10, the first anniversary of the crackdown. Despite all these problems. The detainees have not forgotten why they are there. They still are committed to fighting for the freedom of those oppressed.

Integrated culture of fear

World Organisation Against Torture representative Laurence Cuny spoke of her recent fact-finding trip in Malaysia and voiced concerns about the growing tension in the lead-up to April 10 and Black 14  (the day former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was convicted of corruption).

She said Malaysians were being subjected to a sophisticated and subtle system of intimidation. There is an integrated culture of fear. For example, civil servants have to make a pledge of loyalty to the government. Many people I spoke to are civil servants; they felt pressured to make the pledge and felt that they could not refuse.

Cuny also noted that Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) had been forced to work under conditions designed to inhibit work that was effective, independent and impartial.

Suhakam commissioner Mehrun Siraj related Suhakams objections to the ISA. She said the original approach was to repeal the act. However, after Sept 11, there was another suggestion that there be an alternative to repeal, that amendments to the law need to be made to ensure checks and balances to protect the rights of detainees.

This should include the right to judicial review, such that the judge should be able to consider evidence of threats to national security to determine whether the detention is justifiable.

Suhakam does not condone cruel and unusual treatment and it has found that this has happened in the context of the ISA detentions. Questions asked during the interrogation were not relevant to national security concerns, she added.

The meeting was chaired by Geneva-based human rights advocate Adrian Zoeller. Human rights workers from around the world, as well as diplomats, attended the meeting.



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