Putrajaya insists it has kept human rights promises, increased civil liberties
(TMI) – Putrajaya today insisted that it had kept its human rights promises, saying civil liberties have expanded and outdated laws had been repealed under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration.
On Tuesday, international watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Putrajaya of backtracking on its human rights promises after the electoral setback it suffered in the 13th general election.
A spokesperson for Putrajaya cited an example, saying that the colonial-era Internal Security Act 1960 had been repealed and replaced with laws more appropriate for the 21st century.
“The reforms which Najib has carried out have been lauded across the world, including by the United States Attorney General,” the spokesperson said.
“Civil liberties have been expanded through the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012. Post-election rallies and other demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur have proceeded peacefully.”
The spokesperson pointed out that the fact that rallies and demonstrations passed without any negative incidents underlined the strength of Malaysia’s democracy.
Moreover, changes were made to the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 as Najib kept his word of relaxing laws governing media licensing.
“Putrajaya remains committed to replacing the Sedition Act, and to continue Najib’s reform programme,” the spokesperson said.
Deputy director of HRW Asia Phil Robertson said in 2013, Malaysia was marked by “a tale of two Najibs” – promising legal reforms before the election and restoring repressive laws after it.
In its World Report 2014, HRW highlighted key issues that plagued Malaysia in 2013, noting that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government stepped up repressive laws after the May 5 polls.
After BN lost the majority vote, Putrajaya passed new repressive laws, arrested opposition activists and further repressed political speech, bringing an “end to Najib proclaimed reform agenda”, Robertson said.
“The Malaysian government responded to its electoral setback by curtailing rights rather than respecting them.”
Chief among the issues affecting Malaysia’s human rights reputation was the controversial amendment to the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) in October.
HRW claimed it restored “some of the abusive practices that had been in the recently abolished Internal Security Act and Emergency Ordinance”.
Citing the controversial Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) and the Sedition Act, the report said: “At the so-called People’s Uprising Rally in Kuala Lumpur on January 12, 2013, the police set 27 conditions and followed up by investigating rule violations that were either trivial or protected under international law, such as carrying placards with ‘inappropriate slogans’.”
