Paulsen: Former CJ resorting to extreme fear-mongering

Malaysians are still fighting for basic rights in the Federal Constitution.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohammad should re-read the Federal Constitution and how it upholds the principles of human rights and equality.

“What most Malaysians fight for are basic human rights, freedom of speech, equality, and so on. Those rights are still being fought for,” said Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen.

“There is no need to go to the extreme of fear-mongering, and saying that what will come next are same-sex marriages,” he added, referring to Abdul Hamid’s statement that such liberal thinking would lead ultimately to the legalization of same-sex marriages as has recently happened in the United States.

Paulsen was commenting on Abdul Hamid saying in Utusan Malaysia that local judges are giving judgments that interpret the rights guaranteed by the Federal Constitution “too liberally”, due to their being over-influenced by Western (secular) standards.

Abdul Hamid was linking the recent Court of Appeal’s invalidation of the Negri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Enactment which criminalized cross dressing to the recent United States Supreme Court ruling legalizing homosexual marriages in all 52 states.

On Abdul Hamid claiming that the Negri Sembilan judgment “contradicts the Federal Constitution”, Paulsen said that he had a skewed, conservative and Islam-centric interpretation of the Federal Constitution.

“It’s quite unfortunate that he failed to see the Court’s reasoning,” said Paulsen.

Paulsen argued that Abdul Hamid was exaggerating the threat of liberalism. “Malaysia has always been guided by the Federal Constitution since its independence.”

“Malaysia still was nowhere near the United States and Europe in terms of their consideration of human rights.”