While I welcome the European Parliament resolution on Malaysia passed this week on 17 December 2015, it is indeed another shaming of our country at the international level brought upon by the scandal-ridden Najib administration.
Human rights abuses in Malaysia moved European Parliament to respond
The resolution mainly touched on the poor human rights record in Malaysia notably the gagging of voice of dissent from the opposition and civil society. Among others, it condemned the narrowing of “space for public debate and free speech in Malaysia”, the government resorting to “vaguely worded criminal laws to silence its critics” noting such draconian laws as the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Communications and Multimedia Act and the Peaceful Assembly Act; the resolution also expressed concern for the National Security Council (NSC) Bill passed by the midnight parliamentary sitting on 3 December 2015 which gives the Prime Minister almost unlimited martial power; and it also acknowledged the incarceration of former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as being “politically motivated”.
The resolution called for the repeal of Sedition Act, the withdrawal of the NSC Bill as well as to review other legislations in line with international human rights standard.
A full text of the resolution can be accessed at the European Parliament website: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2015-0465+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
EU joined in the censure against 1MDB scandal
With the resolution, the European Union also joined other global bodies including Transparency International and media as well as investigators from Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and USA, to censure the Malaysian government on the 1MDB scandal. On the allegations of graft, the EU has called for an “independent and transparent investigations” and for the government to “refrain from putting pressure on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and media”.
Day by day, the unresolved 1MDB scandal is giving Malaysia a bad name internationally. Earlier in August this year, Bank Negara’s International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance claimed that Malaysia is facing a “crisis of confidence and credibility” and attributed this to the ongoing financial scandals and the poor handling of these issues. (Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bank-negaras-inceif-says-malaysia-in-a-crisis-of-confidence-and-credibility)
The same sentiment was echoed by the Conference of Malay Rulers who in October this year expressed Their Royal Highnesses’ concern about the matter and demanded for issue to be thoroughly investigated and the culprits to be punished. (Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/malay-rulers-demand-putrajaya-punish-culprits-in-1mdb-scandal)
Prime Minister Najib Razak made a mockery of Parliament when he failed to show up to give a clarification on the 1MDB scandal as promised on the last day of Parliament on 4 December 2015. He has instead instructed the Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to give a ministerial statement on his behalf. The DPM’s three-minute statement however failed to be transparent in regards to every serious questions asked about the 1MDB scandal.
EU cast concern over the integrity of the courts and law enforcement institutions in our country
Finally, the EU parliament resolution cast concern over the integrity of the judiciary and law enforcement institutions in our country. The resolution acknowledged the Anwar Ibrahim’s criminal proceedings as having “failed to meet international standards of fair trial” and the “abusive use of criminal laws” in our country. It also noted the UN and civil society’s report that the “Malaysian police forces have increasingly resorted to acts of torture, late night arrests, unjustifiable remands and selective prosecution”.
The resolution therefore called for the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as recommended by the Tun Dzaiddin Royal Commission on Police in 2005 as well as to ensure the independence law enforcement bodies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. All these have long been voiced out by the opposition and civil society in Malaysia.
All these concerns expressed in the European Parliament resolution on Malaysia are not new. The opposition and civil society in Malaysia have long been fighting an uphill battle against a regime apathetic to the voice of the people. Elected representatives and civil rights activists have been incarcerated, and subjected to various abuses by the government in this struggle. The EU resolution only highlights the gravity of the problem at this juncture. If nothing changes in the immediate future, Malaysia risked being stuck as a pariah state as claimed by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. (Source: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/315224)