The Bar Council's public debate on human rights on Dec 10 will not be a controversial affair because the topic is not a sensitive one, said council president S Ambiga.

malaysian law conference 291007 ambiga 1 She said this when asked if the debate would attract controversy such as the ‘Conversion to Islam’ forum which was also organised by the council.

“I do not see how this human rights debate can under any circumstances be considered a sensitive subject. If it is, then it is a clear sign that we have a human rights problem in this country,” she told a press conference at the council headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Moreover, she stressed that sensitive issues should be discussed openly and rationally.

“We believe in freedom of speech, even sensitive issues have to be discussed because usually they are never discussed.

“But we have no doubt that people will find anything terribly sensitive about the issues to be debated unless people are sensitive about talking about human rights,” Ambiga added.

The debate, themed UDHR @ 60 and Still Not All is Right , is expected to attract students, interested groups and the public. The debate is in conjunction with International Human Rights Day and 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.

Come, join us

Bar Council Human Rights Committee chairperson Edmond Bon encouraged everyone to participate including those who “are against human rights”.

“We encourage people to come even if they are against human rights to put their points across. We want to encourage the type of discourse and discussion within a close and safe environment to control the debate,” he stressed.

The Bar Council has come under fire from many quarters after hosting a forum on inter-marriages on Aug 9 where about 300 protesters gathered outside its headquarters demanding that the lawyers group halt its controversial forum on ‘Conversion to Islam’.

The debate will be held in Kolej Damansara Utama in Petaling Jaya.