In its annual report on human rights released yesterday, the US State Department said serious problems remained in Malaysia with respect to the civil and political rights of its citizens, with particular attention given to the issue of state-sanctioned violence.

"The Royal Malaysian Police have primary responsibility for internal security matters. The police report to and are under the control of the home minister. Members of the police committed human rights abuses," said the report.

Among the main issues, the report pointed out, were custodial deaths and police killings in the course of apprehending suspects, "persistent questions" over judicial independence and impartiality, and the failure to prevent the country from becoming a source and destination for trafficking in women and girls for prostitution.

Other issues cited include freedom of the press, association, assembly, religion and workers' rights; discrimination and exploitation of indigenous groups; and the preferential treatment given to ethnic Malays.

This year, it noted that 11 people were reported by the media to have died in police custody , and pointed out that the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) was aware of "numerous" complaints of deaths in police custody, police brutality, and negligence.

And when the authorities do investigate police personnel, the government routinely does not release information on the results of investigations, and whether those responsible are punished is not always known, it said.

Anwar's case

The prosecution of jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim and questions over judicial integrity were also raised in the report.

"According to many legal experts, both domestic and international, Anwar Ibrahim is a political prisoner because he was charged, tried, and convicted in a legal process that was politically motivated and patently unfair," it said.

"Observers alleged manufactured charges of corruption and sodomy, questionable rulings by the presiding judges that facilitated the prosecution and greatly limited Anwar's defence, and an unwillingness by the judiciary to consider reasonable bail requests."

The report pointed out that in July, three of the judges involved in Anwar's case were promoted to higher positions ahead of judges with more seniority.

Anwar was convicted on four counts of corruption in 1999 and sentenced to six years in prison. In 2000, he was convicted for sodomy and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Appeals in 2000 and 2002 were denied. In April 2003, the Court of Appeal upheld the sodomy conviction, and subsequently in Jan this year, refused his application for bail pending appeal.

Political opponents

Once again, the report repeated its assertion that the Internal Security Act (ISA) is used by the ruling party against political opponents.

"There were no new reports of the government using the ISA against political opponents during the year. However, the ISA, and the threat of invoking the ISA, have in the past been used to intimidate and restrict political dissent," it said.

The complaint raised by reformasi activist Abdul Malek Hussin of police violence against him, was also highlighted.

"At year's end, there was still no government response to the March1999 police report filed by opposition activist Abdul Malek bin Hussin in which he accused police of torturing him in 1998 while he was under detention. No further action by the government was expected," it said.

Illegal migrants

Further on the issue of ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees, the report said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has come up with "credible allegations" against the government for contributing to detainees' deaths.

"Inadequate food, inadequate medical care, poor sanitation, and abuse by guards in government camps for illegal immigrants," and "overcrowding and related poor health conditions" contributed to the deaths of several detainees, said the state department of the UNHCR report.

Monitoring of camp and prison conditions by independent groups such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, NGOs and the media are not allowed, however UNHCR and Suhakam officials were at times given access, it said.

Other serious problems involving the prison system include overcrowding, detention of juvenile in adult prison facilities, allegations of intensive interrogation and abusive treatment towards ISA detainees, and the arrest of individuals beyond the two-week limit.

During the year, it said, thousands of Acehnese asylum seekers were detained in camps for illegal immigrants pending deportation because the government makes no distinction between political asylum-seekers, refugees, or economic migrants, and "does not abide by customary international law in this area."

Press freedom

On the issue of press freedom, the state department charged that the "government engaged in a campaign to discredit the independent Internet daily, malaysiakini winner of an International Press Institute 2001 Press Freedom Award."

In January, Umno Youth lodged a complaint against malaysiakini over a letter published on the website that allegedly contained seditious remarks, the report said.

In response, the police raided the daily's office, confiscating 15 computers and four servers, and shutting down the company's online service for over 10 hours.

"While the government continued to deny malaysiakini formal press accreditation, its reporters were allowed to cover government functions and ministers' press conferences," it said.

The English and Malay-language press were also taken to task for their "uncritical coverage" of government officials and policies while providing "limited and selective coverage" to political views of the opposition.

However, the report also acknowledged that "self-censorship and biased reporting in the print media were not uniform, and the English-, Malay-, and Chinese-language press sometimes provided balanced reporting on sensitive issues."

Sometimes, the government directly restricts disclosure of information "deemed embarrassing or prejudicial to national interests", such as the air pollution index readings or deaths due to dengue fever, the report said.

Interference in the release of several foreign magazines also occurred in the year, the report said, including the Far Eastern Economic Review and The Economist .

In September, the government also announced that it would consider a ban against any foreign magazine that made unfounded allegations against the country and its leaders.

Also on the issue of free expression, the department reported on the sentencing of rights activist Irene Fernandez to 12 months' imprisonment under the Printing Presses and Publications Act for publishing a report alleging dehumanised treatment and torture of detained migrants in government-run camps.

While the magistrate rejected Fernandez's interviews as hearsay and noted that she had made no effort to visit the camps personally, the report however said government policy does not allow NGOs to visit migrant detention camps.

Religious restriction

The report also addressed the infamous 'Jews control the world through proxies' speech of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose remarks at the Organisation of Islamic Conference drew international condemnation.

However, the state department was quick to stress that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had "subsequently emphasised religious tolerance towards all faiths."

Nevertheless, the report said the government in practice restricts the right to choice in religion, even though the constitution in principle guarantees that right.

The government funds support an Islamic religious establishment, and it was official policy to "infuse Islamic values" into the administration of the country, it said.

"Adherence to Islam was considered intrinsic to Malay ethnic identity in peninsular Malaysia and therefore Islamic religious laws administered by state authorities through Islamic courts bind all ethnic Malays (and other Muslims) in some matters."

Periodic detention of members of deviant sects on claims that the teachings of the group were detrimental to society is not uncommon, the report noted.

As state governments carefully control the building of non-Muslim places of worship and the allocation of land for non-Muslim cemeteries, federal authorities also discourage the circulation of Malay-language translations of the Bible and other reading materials.

In December, Malaysian authorities balked at a state department report on religious freedom which listed Malaysia alongside Turkey, Russia, Indonesia, Brunei, Belarus, Eritrea, Moldova and Israel as among nine countries with laws or policies that favoured certain religions and placed others at a disadvantage.