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Human rights under the “Mr. Nice Guy” - Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration has regressed further in 2006 coupled with alarming collapse of the system and institutions for the protection of human rights, said Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), the leading human rights group during its annual human rights report launch today.

The Malaysia Human Rights Report 2006: Civil and Political Rights is an annual report released by SUARAM to take stock of and analyse the human rights developments in Malaysia. The report was launched today at the Cititel Hotel, Kuala Lumpur by two communities who have won the 2006 Suaram’s Human Rights Award, the Chin Refugee Committee and the Kampung Jelutong Plantation community.

According to the executive director of Suaram, Yap Swee Seng, the regression of human rights in 2006 are manifested in three regressive trends, namely the growing of the cultures of impunity, religious intolerance and vigilantism. “If these trends are not checked, they will be detrimental to the protection and promotion of human rights in future,” warned Yap.
“First and foremost, the culture of impunity is very prevalent in the law enforcement authorities, especially the police force and the immigration department, acting as if they are above the law and untouchable”, said Yap Swee Seng, executive director of Suaram.

Yap cited the nine cases of custodial deaths that took place in 2006, a stark increase in comparison to the six cases in 2005. More alarmingly, none of the nine cases in 2006 have had an inquest conducted. Also, not a single policeman has been charged or disciplined for the excessive force and violence used in dispersing protesting crowds against the fuel price hike, toll hike and the forced evictions in Kampung Beremban.

Yap pointed out that systemic impunity continues in the indefinite detention without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) and the Emergency Ordinance (EO). “Despite the call of the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to the United States to grant the right to trial for the two Malaysians held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, we regret that he himself has continued to perpetuate impunity with more than 2,000 people remaining incarcerated without trial indefinitely in our own backyards.”

The growing of religious intolerance, both by state actors and non-state actors has been highlighted by Suaram as the second worrying regressive trend. Cases documented in Suaram’s report, including the suggestion of prohibiting the casual greeting of “Deeparaya”,  by Takaful Malaysia, the denial of the right for non-Muslims to seek redress in a civil court in cases involving both Muslims and non-Muslims, such as the case of Moorthy and Subashini, the denial of the right to choose a person’s own religion such as in the case of Lina Joy, the violent protests staged by certain groups in stopping a peaceful forum in Penang, and the most serious intolerance being the death threats issued against Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, a lawyer that acted in some of these cases defending the right to freedom of religion.

The third alarming regressive trend is the institutionalization of the culture of vigilantism. This is especially evident and prevalent in the case of the recruitment of civilians into the People’s Volunteer Corp (RELA) and the deployment of these untrained civilians in the hunting down of illegal immigrants in the country, with a bounty attached to them.

“Since the amendment in 2005 that gave powers to RELA to conduct raid on undocumented migrants, the government practically let loose the RELA to run wild with raids conducted almost on a weekly basis in 2006 and generated a stream of non-stop cases of RELA taking the law into their own hands in abusing not only the refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrant workers, but also the local residents and foreign tourists”, said Yap.

“Underlying these three regressive trends is the alarming collapse of systems and institutions that are designed to check abuses and protect human rights”, said the Suaram executive director.

“For example, the internal investigation mechanism by the police has failed miserably in bringing corrupted cops to book and addressing the problems of impunity. The failure to conduct inquests on each and every custodial death is the norm of the day, rather than the exceptions. In the case of religious intolerance, the civil courts have generally abdicated from its duty in protecting the right to freedom of religion and leaving the victims in legal wilderness with no protection. In the case of vigilante culture, the government has repeatedly defended RELA despite large numbers of complaints against the RELA.”

Suaram said the check and balance systems and institutions must be strengthened if these regressive trends are to be reversed. It calls on the government to set up immediately the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to end the widespread impunity in the police force and the RELA to be disbanded to prevent the growth of a vigilante culture based on emergency laws that have outlived its original purpose. The recommendations and results of public inquiries conducted by the National Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) must be respected and enforced.

“The civil courts should not shy away from religious freedom cases and must act to protect the rights of individual to freedom of religion, as entrusted to them under the Constitution,” said Yap.

“Clearly, there is a need for a thorough reform of the system and institutions to halt these regressive trends and protect human rights. Abdullah Badawi’s government must show greater political will in restoring public confidence in the system and institutions for the protection of human rights, failing which his own credibility would be seriously questioned and the people shall judge him in the coming general election.”

For further inquiry, please contact Yap Swee Seng, executive director of Suaram, tel: 03-77843525 or email: suaram@suaram.net.