'A lost decade for Suhakam'

Nothing has changed in relation to the state of human rights - therefore the first 10 years of the Human Rights Commission’s existence can be written off as “a lost decade”.

Ramdas Tikamdas, immediate past president of human rights society Hakam, presented this bleak view at a panel discussion this morning in Kuala Lumpur.

Held to mark Suhakam’s 10th anniversary celebration, it was themed ‘Human Rights in Malaysia: The Last 10 Years’.

Ramdas, a lawyer, said one of the main barriers to accessing human rights in Malaysia is the continued use of the Internal Security Act.

“So long as the government continues to procrastinate, laws for human rights will continue to be retarded,” he said.

Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan likened the commission to “the trophy wife of the government - nice to be brought along to dinner parties to prove critics wrong about the lack of human rights, but who at other times is kept under lock and key”.

Andrew Khoo, the chairperson of the Bar Council human rights committee said that the laws have contravened human rights standards.

He said the government has only considered human rights aspects on five occasions - in drafting the Judicial Appointments Commission Act; Evidence of Child Witness Act 2007; Anti-trafficking in Persons Act; and Persons with Disability Act, as well as in implementing the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

‘Review CMA’

Former Suhakam commissioner Mehrun Siraj addressed issues related to women and religion, pointing out amendments that have helped to provide equality for men and women alike.

For example the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961 was revised in 1998 to provide equal rights to mothers.

Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman, in his keynote address, emphasised the importance of human rights as he quoted former United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan: “Human rights are what made us human.”

In outlining the work that Suhakam has done, he said legislation alone is not enough in ensuring that human rights are respected.

In welcoming the government’s decision to amend the Police Act and other preventive laws, he also called for review of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

This, he added, is because the Act appears to curtail press freedom which “does not reflect well on the image of the nation”.