Suaram’s annual Human Rights Report on Malaysia is widely recognised as the most objective, comprehensive and dependable source of information of the state of human rights in Malaysia. It documents the human rights violations as well as the struggles of human rights defenders that take place in Malaysia during the year. In this 2010 report, we note that despite promises of reforms and greater respect for human rights, the Najib Administration continued to display intolerance towards dissent and free speech. Proposed cyber-sedition law signaled the increase in further crackdowns on the freedom of expression. State institutions such as the police continued to suffer from a serious crisis of public confidence due to the failure of the government to implement long-awaited reforms such as the recommendations made by the Royal Commission on the Police.
Proposed amendments to the Internal Security Act (ISA), concerning the proposal to reduce the period of solitary confinement from 60 days to 30 days, fail to address the fundamental flaw in the Act itself and detention without trial. It is clear that the government wishes to keep the ISA as a convenient tool to instil fear and stifle political dissent. Other repressive laws like the Sedition Act, the Official Secrets Act and the Police Act remain firmly in place, compromising the government’s pledges to uphold civil liberties and to create an information society. Police shootings recorded throughout 2010 revealed the continued lack of accountability and the impunity of law enforcement agencies.
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 04 August, 2011.
