Malaysia: Keep Moratorium on Abusive Laws
New Government Steps Back from Reform Agenda
© 2018 Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(Bangkok) – The Malaysian
government should reconsider its decision to lift the moratorium on
laws previously used to repress dissent, Human Rights Watch said today.
The government announced
on November 30, 2018, that the cabinet had lifted its moratorium on
several of these laws, including the Sedition Act of 1948, in response
to recent disturbances surrounding a Hindu temple in Subang Jaya.
“The government that so recently took office promising a commitment
to human rights should not return to the draconian laws used by the
previous Malaysian administration to stifle dissent,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “The government should reconsider its decision, which is a big step backward on the road to reform.”
The government that so recently took office promising a commitment to human rights should not return to the draconian laws used by the previous Malaysian administration to stifle dissent.
Phil Robertson
Deputy Asia Director
Malaysia’s former Barisan Nasional government repeatedly used the Sedition Act of 1948
to arrest and prosecute critics of the government. The new government
ran on an election manifesto promising to repeal the law and to amend
laws such as the Communications and Multimedia Act of 1998, used to
punish critical speech online, and laws permitting administrative
detention.
On October 11, the communications and multimedia minister, Gobind Singh Deo, announced
that the Cabinet had agreed to a moratorium on use of the Sedition Act
pending repeal. Similarly, Malaysia announced during the November 8
United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of its human rights
situation that the government had made a “firm decision” to suspend use
of the Sedition Act pending repeal.
The decision to lift the suspension is unwarranted and poses human
rights concerns. The November 26 confrontation over the relocation of
the Hindu temple, which involved a night of rioting and vandalism in which a firefighter was critically injured,
raised serious law and order concerns. But Malaysia has sufficient laws
on the books to punish those responsible without resorting to laws that
the government itself has acknowledged should be repealed. The
Malaysian Penal Code contains extensive provisions dealing with criminal
assemblies and rioting, criminal intimidation, and incitement that are
more than adequate to cover the types of offenses committed on November
26.
“While Malaysia’s government has a responsibility to prevent
violence, it needs to do so without falling back on abusive
legislation,” Robertson said. “Otherwise, the Malaysian people will
return to suffering from laws used in the past to violate fundamental
human rights.” - https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/05/malaysia-keep-moratorium-abusive-laws
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