2008 Human Rights Report: Malaysia
On September 12, police detained Raja Petra Kamarudin, a blogger and critic of the ruling government, under the ISA. On September 23, the home minister ordered Raja Petra to be detained for two years, claiming that his writings posed a threat to national security by creating racial tension and insulting Islam. On November 7, the High Court ruled Raja Petra's detention was unconstitutional and the judge ordered his release from ISA detention. The judge ruled that the home minister's decisions regarding ISA detention could not be "unfettered and arbitrary," which allowed the court to consider whether the minister's ISA detention order was in "accordance with the act." The judge ruled that Raja Petra's detention was invalid because none of his alleged infractions fell under the scope of the ISA. The government appealed the ruling, and the appeal remained pending at year's end.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy with a population of approximately 26.9 million. It has a parliamentary system of government headed by a prime minister selected through periodic, multiparty elections. The United Malays National Organization (UMNO), together with a coalition of political parties currently known as the National Front, has held power since independence in 1957. The most recent national elections, in March, were conducted in a generally transparent manner and witnessed significant opposition gains. The opposition complained of the ruling coalition's exploitation of the powers of incumbency and domination of the mainstream media. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. The government abridged citizens' right to change their government. Some deaths occurred during police apprehensions and while in police custody. Reported abuses by members of the People's Volunteer Corps (RELA) included rape, beatings, extortion, theft, pilfering homes, destroying UN High Commissioners for Refugees (UNHCR) and other status documents, and pillaging refugee settlements. Other problems included police abuse of detainees, overcrowded immigration detention centers, use of arbitrary arrest and detention using the Internal Security Act (ISA) and three other statutes that allow detention without trial, and persistent questions about the impartiality and independence of the judiciary. The government arrested a prominent opposition leader on politically motivated charges of consensual sodomy. The government also arrested other opposition leaders, journalists, and Internet bloggers apparently for political reasons. The government continued to detain without trial five leaders of an ethnic Indian civil rights group. The civil courts continued to allow the Shari'a (Islamic law) courts to exercise jurisdiction in cases involving families that included non-Muslims. The government continued to restrict freedom of press, association, assembly, speech, and religion. Trafficking in persons remained a problem. There were credible allegations of immigration officials' involvement in the trafficking of Burmese refugees. Longstanding government policies gave preferences to ethnic Malays in many areas. Some employers exploited through forced labor migrant workers and ethnic Indian-Malaysians. Some child labor occurred in plantations.
