Don't twist human rights issues for political gain - Suhakam to politicians

 

The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) today reminded politicians against twisting the issue of human rights for their political agenda.

According to Suhakam commissioner Mah Weng Kwai (above), politicians can talk about human rights as long as they abide by the principle of it.

"Our position is that while human rights issues tend to be of a political nature, I don't think we can all shy away from it simply because it's political.

"It's important for politicians to take on board human rights issues as part of their politics but it's important to remember they should not give a twist to the issue of human rights purely for political agenda," Mah said in a Zoom meeting today.

"They should not ignore the universal principle of human rights because we abide by certain standards, and as long as they keep to a certain standard, they can talk about it," he added. 

During the question and answer session, Suhakam was asked to comment on advice regarding politicians in its 2019 annual report.

The advice read: "Suhakam urges the government, all politicians and parliamentarians to avoid using 'human rights' as a tool for political gains, but rather as an approach to right what is wrong, and as a discourse to strive for a just, respected, equitable and sustainable society where no one is left out of the equation."

Another Suhakam commissioner, Jerald Joseph, urged politicians to work with Suhakam on defending human rights rather than merely claiming that they believe in it. 

Jerald Joseph

Suhakam had also expressed disappointment with the Independent Police Conduct Commission Bill (IPCC), which is a watered-down version of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

This came after the media asked whether Suhakam welcomed the IPCC.

"The position of Suhakam is that of course, we are not entirely happy, not dancing with joy with this new bill because some of the very important issues have been changed.

"(For instance) the most important point being the oversight by third parties rather than an oversight from within," Mah said.

Meanwhile, in a presentation, commissioner Lok Yim Pheng highlighted that Suhakam had received a total of 1,154 complaints, with the majority of them from Sabah (415), followed by Kuala Lumpur (298), and Sarawak (70).

Statelessness and land issues contributed to the high number of complaints in Sabah, the media was told.

On the alleged enforced disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and social activist Amri Che Mat, Mah noted that Suhakam had yet to hear from a special task force formed under the previous Pakatan Harapan government on the matter.

Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat

The task force was formed in June last year to probe the alleged enforced disappearances and was given six months to conduct its investigation and produce a report.

Prior to that, Suhakam in April last year had concluded that the police's Special Branch was involved in the duo's disappearances.

"The government had formed a special task force, but until now, we have not heard feedback from it. I think the government has to speed up on getting the findings of the special report," Mah said.

He added that it's time for the government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. - Mkini