Anwar betrayed reform promises to hold his coalition together - HRW

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his administration to recommit to "a rights-respecting agenda" by acting on its reform pledges.

This followed an HRW World Report 2024 launched today, which found that Anwar has "largely failed" to uphold his reform promises in his first year as the prime minister.

While acknowledging that Putrajaya has taken some positive reform steps, HRW Asia researcher Shayna Bauchner said the prime minister had betrayed many other pledges that he made to voters so he could hold his ruling coalition together.

"In his first year in office, Anwar betrayed the reform pledges he made to Malaysian voters so he could hold his coalition together.

"The government should recommit to a rights-respecting agenda by turning its sidelined campaign promises into action," said Bauchner in a press statement that accompanied the report.

The report, which reviews human rights practices in more than 100 countries, cited several incidents that occurred last year to show the stalled reforms by Anwar's administration.

They include the prosecution of Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor in July who was charged under the Sedition Act for remarks he made regarding the Selangor ruler, with Anwar defending the use of the law as "unavoidable" on matters related to rulers.

Other examples include the arrest of political activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin in September over a TikTok video where he allegedly criticised the prime minister; government bans on several online news portals to censor critical speech; and ban on the film “Mentega Terbang” under the Film Censorship Act.

"The government failed to carry out commitments to abolish or reform abusive laws, including the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act, which continue to be used to criminalise free speech.

"The regulatory Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission implemented access bans on online news portals to censor critical speech, which it defended as tackling 'the spread of false information, offensive content, and defamation'," it said.

Repression of refugees, LGBTQ+, women's rights

According to the report further, the new government has continued to deny UN High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) access to immigration detention centres last year.

Malaysia's continued refusal to grant refugees legal status has also left the group unable to formally work or enrol in government schools.

There was also no further progress announced on government plans to release children from immigration detention despite statements made by the home minister in February and April last year, it claimed.

"From January to May, authorities deported more than 18,000 undocumented migrants and asylum seekers from immigration detention centres, according to the government.

"In January last year, authorities deported 114 Myanmar nationals, including children, without giving them a chance to file asylum claims, in an apparent violation of international customary law’s prohibition on refoulement, the forcible return of refugees to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened," it said.

State-sponsored discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community has also continued, according to HRW, including the funding of conversion practices.

The organisation pointed out that Anwar has rejected the idea that LGBTQ+ people would be recognised and protected under his government, which had also issued a ban on all Swatch products with LGBTQ+ branding and confiscated the watches from stores in May.

"The cabinet announced in February plans to amend the Federal Constitution to grant Malaysian citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers.

"However, the citizenship amendments also contain provisions that will perpetuate child statelessness. At the time of writing, the amendments had been discussed in the cabinet and presented to the Conference of Rulers."

On the other hand, the human rights body also commended Anwar's administration for its success in abolishing the mandatory death penalty through the Parliament.

"The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023, which came into force in July, removed the mandatory death penalty for the 12 offences that carried it and removed the death penalty as an option for seven offences.

"However, the new law retains the death sentence for drug trafficking under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, the most common conviction for death row prisoners," said the report.

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