A time to remember Altantuya: Human Rights Day by Carolyn Khor

A time to remember Altantuya: Human Rights Day by Carolyn Khor

Malaysia is still rated fairly free despite fall in Human Development Index ranking

Ironically, the existence of a Human Rights Day conveys an apparent lack of human rights in the world, even with laws which are supposedly meant to protect the innocent.

In 1950, the United Nations General Assembly declared 10 Dec as Human Rights Day. It is twenty years since 1993 a mandate of High Commissioner was created for the promotion and protection of all human rights during the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna the same year.

Women’s Rights are now acknowledged as a fundamental human right. Discrimination and acts of violence against women are at the forefront of the human rights discourse.

Human Rights in Malaysia

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in a survey done under Human Development Index (HDI), Malaysia has backslidden in her ranking from 61^st place in 2011 to 64^th place out of 187 countries in 2013.

Two massive rallies dubbed Bersih 2.0 and Bersih 3.0 held on 9 July 201 and 28 April 2012 respectively attributed to the drop in HDI ranking. Bersih is short for Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections. During Bersih 2.0, over 1600 protesters were arrested while over 500 protesters faced the same for Bersih 3.0. Armed forces had used the tear gas and water cannon on peaceful protesters.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), a human rights organisation in Malaysia is still actively pursuing the case of the Defense Ministry’s Scorpene submarine purchase through the French court. The world still mourns the death of a central figure in the Scorpene deal - Altantuya Shaariibuugin, who was blown to pieces by C4 explosives in 2006 and her immigration record into Malaysia erased.

Another gross violation of human rights in Malaysia is the rape of the indigenous women in Penan, Sarawak. Workers of a large timber conglomerate had been constantly harassing the local women there but no action has been taken against them even though it was broadly publicised.

Human rights cover a wide range of issues including access to basic necessities, equality, life and the right to tell the truth. In the Universal Declaration of Human the first and second article states that:

1)     All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood;

2)     Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Do laws protect or are they used to prosecute and silence the victims?

In Malaysia, the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allowed detention without trial was replaced with the Security Offences (Special Measures) 2012 Act (SOSMA). SOSMA and the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) which replaces Section 27 of the Police Act has been criticised as being even more restrictive with provisions slanted towards the police.

The officially endorsed preferential treatment towards the majority practised in Malaysia is another case of human rights violation according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Any attempts to question or discuss the matter will be enamoured with the Sedition Act or the Printing Presses and Publication Act.

Even the Christians in the country are not spared. A recent ban on the use of the Arabic word ‘Allah’ had created international headlines.

Ops Lallang, an operation carried out in 1987 saw a total of 106 people arrested under the ISA. Forty people were issued with a detention order without trial for two years and sent to the Kamunting Detention Centre. These people included political figures, social activists and individuals. Two daily newspapers, the Star Paper and Sin Chew Jit Poh had their publishing licenses revoked for a period of time.

Custodial deaths and the license to kill

According to SUARAM, there are 12 custodial deaths alone this year. Two other high-profiled deaths were Teoh Beng Hock and Gunasegaran who died the same day in custody – 16 July 2009.

When Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said, “I think the best way is not to compromise with them, don’t give anymore warnings to them, [if] we have evidence, we [will] shoot first”, it created a furore among the Malaysians.

As the Home Minister, Ahmad Zahidi could have used his words sparingly but did not.

Your right is just as much my right

Just a few days ago, an UMNO division head asked for the 1Malaysia slogan to be changed to 1Melayu during the party’s General Assembly. Such racist statements are nothing new under the sun and as the former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew claimed, the minorities face systematic marginalisation.

 

It is bizarre how a human can treat another human with so much contempt and this makes it all the more reason for Human Rights Day to exist. Laws are written by man but man made the law to favour the rich and influential. Who are we to blame but ourselves and the 47% who voted the reigning government into power?

While most would frown upon giving out election goodies, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying ‘you help me, I help you’ during his election campaign this year. It comes as no surprise at all that immediately after the General Election and heavy spending, prices of all essential goods shot up due to the price hike in petrol, sugar and electricity tariffs. On top of it, an impending Goods and Service Tax of 6% will be imposed from April next year.

Inflation affects the livelihood and affordability of the average wage earner. Although a moderate inflation rate is healthy for the country’s economy, knee-jerk changes to the country’s fiscal policies creates shock and unrest. Overlaying this with the spendthrift habit of the Prime Minister’s wife who gets the cabinet’s approval to represent the Prime Minister for official visits using the country’s jet plane, the ordinary citizens of Malaysia are certainly getting the short end of the stick.

How UMNO equates itself to the great Nelson Mandela who passed away on 6 December this year is yet another unimaginable claim. One fights for human rights while the other fights against it. One abolished the apartheid while the other promotes superiority of a certain race.

Facts are indeed stranger than fiction.

So what is Human Rights? Human Rights is the ability to treat another fellow human being with goodwill and mutual respect to achieve peace and unity. Until then, we still need Human Rights Day.