Yesterday, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2014 that the Malaysian government backtracked significantly on human rights after the May 2013 general election returned the ruling coalition to power with a significantly smaller majority.
“Malaysia in 2013 was marked by a ‘tale of two Najibs’ – promising legal reforms before the election and restoring repressive laws after it,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Let’s see whether Najib will react to the Report as fast as he reacted to the kangkong ridicule or he will he remain silent just like how he has treated Jais’s raid on Bible Society of Malaysia.
Jais’s raid in total disregard of the Cabinet’s 10 point solution happened on Jan 2 but till today the Prime Minister has yet to break his silence on this issue.
Yet he was so quick in reacting against the kangkong ridicule against him.
However, irrespective of what will be his reaction to the Human Rights Watch Report, whether to attempt to rebut the Report or to remain silent on it, he cannot run away from the fact that he has backtracked significantly on human rights.
His silence and inaction on various issues including the latest Allah row have put into doubt his credentials and commitment as a moderate.
His backtracking on human rights shows that he has failed to keep his pledge to want to make Malaysia the best democracy in the world.
He has probably forgotten what he said on September 11, 2011 when he spoke on repeal of the Internal Security Act. But Malaysians can still remember that had said today the repeal of the Internal Security Act was an effort to make Malaysia the best democracy in the world.
If he is committed to his pledge, he must not backtrack on political and human rights reforms, no matter what internal resistance he is facing from his own party.
Najib must prove his conviction and mettle as a serious reformist or he will go down in history as a Prime Minister who only promised and implemented reforms merely for electoral gains and had reintroduced regressive and anti democrtatic laws for his own political survival.