Suhakam should be innovative, creative and
courageous to make a difference in the protection and promotion of human
rights in Malaysia - as in publishing a monthly bulletin on the human rights
situation in the country to spark constant national debate and pressure
Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang
(Petaling Jaya, Wednesday):
Suhakam chairman, Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman said yesterday that the people,
not just their elected representatives, have the right to express views that
are opposed to the Government; that no one should have a monopoly over
information and that "a healthy public and private debate on issues could
help to develop sound policies for the country". (The Star)
These are very noble and worthy sentiments and sweet words. The function and
responsibilities of Suhakam and its chairman, however, are not to make trite
statements but to make a difference for the people and the country in the
promotion and protection of human rights in Malaysia.
Abu Talib's paper yesterday on the
political outlook in post-Mahathir era Malaysia organised by the Asian
Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) is also quite meaningless, as he
seems to be unaware that it is not just the people, but even elected
representatives with dissenting or contrary opinions who have been denied
the right to express views in the public domain, especially in the mass
media, whether printed or electronic, buttressed by draconian laws like the
Official Secrets Act, the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses and
Publications Act, the Internal Security Act, the Police Act, etc. which he,
when he was Attorney-General, had no hesitation in invoking and prosecuting
without regard to human rights considerations.
Furthermore, the problem of
monopoly of information is today in the worst position ever in the 45-year
history of the nation, despite the establishment of Suhakam, the advent of
ICT and the information age as illustrated by the absence of professional
and independent journalism and reporting of vibrant diversity of views on
important public issues and developments, whether the RM10 billion Valuecap
operation to use public funds to prop up the share market or the worst
dengue epidemic in the nation's history which claimed over 72 lives and
reported over 30,000 cases last year.
While fully conscious of the
constraints and limitations faced by Suhakam, the country and people have
high expectations of Suhakam that it could be innovative, creative and
courageous to make a difference in the protection and promotion of human
rights in Malaysia.
Has Abu Talib fulfilled the people's expectations and has he made a
difference in the promotion and protection of human rights in his nine
months as Suhakam chairman?
Abu Talib is fully justified in returning to his pet complaint against
Members of Parliament for not debating the Annual Reports of Suhakam tabled
in Parliament, although both reports were for the first two years under the
first Suhakam chairman, Tan Sri Musa Hitam, but he undermined his own human
rights credentials when he said in the same breath that "Malaysia is firmly
committed to the promotion and protection of human rights on the basis of
its commitment to the United Nations Charter of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) 1948".
If the Malaysian government is indeed so committed to human rights and the
UDHR, then the failings of MPs to debate the Suhakam annual reports would
not be so heinous - but it is not only Malaysians, but even the world knows
that the Malaysian Prime Minister and his government have staked a position
questioning the universal validity and application of the UDHR.
MPs can in fact counter by questioning Suhakam's commitment to parliamentary
democracy and human rights when it failed to make available to Parliament
and to the people its report to the government containing recommendations
for amendments to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999,
purportedly to overcome the limitations of the existing rule.
But the greatest test of Suhakam is whether it has made any difference in
the promotion and protection of human rights after nearly three years of
existence.
One way Suhakam can make a
difference in human rights in Malaysia is to publish a monthly bulletin on
the human rights situation in the country to spark constant national debate
and pressure, taking positions on the current human rights issues of the
month. For instance, the current human rights issues which Suhakam should
take a position include:
-
Call on the government to drop
charges against Tenaganita director, Irene Fernandez, under Section 8A(2) of
the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 for "maliciously publishing
false news" after she released a memorandum at a press conference in August
1995 about alleged torture and deaths in the camps for illegal immigrants.
-
Call on the Registrar of Societies
to respect and uphold the UDHR and approve the registration of Parti
Sosialis Malaysia.
-
Call on the government to
introduce a Whistleblowers Act to fight corruption and abuses of power and
to protect those people who bring to the public's attention any matters
which are contrary to the public interest. Time's "Persons of the Year"
honoured three whistleblowers, Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley, and Sherron
Watkins exposing the corporate scandals in the United States, In Malaysia,
three Sabahans are arrested under the Official Secrets Act in connection
with leakage of information about state government corruption over logging.
What is Suhakam's position on
these three issues to make a difference for human rights in Malaysia?
(15/1/2003)
*
Lim Kit Siang, DAP National
Chairman
|
http://dapmalaysia.org