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On behalf of SUARAM, I am pleased to invite you to the launch of SUARAM Human Rights Report on Civil Political Rights 2007. The launch will be held at the following:

Date: 19 June 2008 (Thursday)

Venue: Mandarin Court Hotel, 55 Jalan Maharajalela, 50150, Kuala Lumpur.

(Please follow this link for the location map of the hotel:

http://www.mandarincourthotel.com.my/location.cfm)

SUARAM publishes its Human Rights Report on Malaysia every year without fail. This report is now widely recognised as the most objective, comprehensive and dependable source of information on the state of human rights in Malaysia. In keeping with our tradition of annual publication, this year’s report focuses on the human rights violation in this country throughout 2007.

This event will be the perfect platform for us to foster solidarity in defending and advocating human rights in Malaysia. As such, your attendance will speak volumes in our mutual quest for a better Malaysia.

Kindly confirm your attendance with John Liu at 03-77843525/77835724 or suaram@suaram.net by 17 June 2008. We look forward to seeing you there.

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About SUARAM’s Malaysia Human Rights Report 2007: Civil and Political Rights

In this 2007 report, we note that on this 50th year of Malaysia’s independence, the state institutions intended to safeguard human rights failed to deliver. The most notable event was the exposure of the corruption in the Malaysian judiciary, with the revelation of a videotape showing the fixing of appointments and promotion of judges.

Numerous demonstrations were organised throughout the year, culminating in two massive rallies in November on a scale not seen since the Reformasi era in the late 1990s. Despite harsh suppression of these public assemblies and dissent by the state, the Malaysian people continued to press for reforms, improvements in civil liberties, and the restoration of democracy.

The government continued to drag its feet on the most crucial of the 125 recommendations by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police, particularly the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). Draconian laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) were still used to detain individuals without trial. Other restrictive and repressive laws, including the Police Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the Sedition Act were still invoked by the government to suppress dissent and curb basic freedoms of expression, assembly and association.

The politicisation of Islam in recent years has also resulted in violations of human rights. 2007 saw cases of persecution of Muslims who chose to renounce Islam or practice religious teachings other than Sunni Islam. The rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants were also violated by the government, especially in the use of the People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA) as bounty hunters in the crackdown on these vulnerable groups.

The SUARAM Human Rights Report on Civil and Political Rights 2007 documents these human rights violations and the unrelenting struggles of human rights defenders to promote democracy and human rights in Malaysia.