Eighteen NGOs have urged the government to enact laws to prohibit torture and inhumane treatment against people and ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, with or without reservations.

“We urge the government to amend the Federal Constitution to include the provision that ‘no person shall be subject to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment save in accordance with law’.

“The inclusion of the words ‘save in accordance with law’ removes concerns that Malaysian law still provides for caning as a legal sentence,” said the NGOs in a statement today in conjunction with International Human Rights Day.

Among the NGOs are Aliran, Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet), Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-Ada) and United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong).

Past cases

Recalling past abuses, the NGOs pointed out the case where an 11-year-old schoolboy who suffered a heatstroke after being forced to stand under the sun, leaving him with a nerve condition.

The groups also pointed out the murder of navy cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, whose peers brutally tortured him before passing away.

“And we recall how a police officer assaulted a deaf e-hailing driver in May,” the groups added, referring to the case of Ong Ing Keong who was assaulted by a police officer in the lobby of St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on May 28.

The officer, Muhammad Taufik Ismail, pleaded guilty to assault and was slapped with a RM1,000 fine for causing hurt to the 47-year-old deaf driver.

Other countries have such laws

On that note, the NGOs reminded the government that although Malaysia has yet to ratify the convention against torture, the administration can still include provisions against torture and inhumane treatment against people in the Federal Constitution.

The groups highlighted that several foreign nations have such provisions in their constitutions such as Turkiye, Indonesia and Thailand.

“Article 17 of the Turkiye Constitution states ‘no one shall be subjected to torture or maltreatment; no one shall be subjected to penalties or treatment incompatible with human dignity’.

“Article 28G (2) of the Indonesian Constitution states ‘every person shall have the right to be free from torture or inhumane and degrading treatment’.

“And Section 28 of Thailand’s Constitution, amongst others, states ‘torture, brutal acts or punishment by cruel or inhumane means shall not be permitted’,” they added.