Anwar Ibrahim will be the worst prime minister if he fails to deliver the reforms that Pakatan Harapan has touted over the years, said human rights group Suaram.
Saying the new government has been slow in introducing policies to protect human rights, Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy questioned the administration’s political will to change draconian and archaic laws in the country.
He told reporters this afternoon they put high hopes on Anwar (above), who has been on the receiving end of police brutality and a victim of detention without trial, to do something now when he has the power.
“So, as a former victim, (and known as) Bapa Reformasi, the expectation (is high).
“Anwar is a better choice compared to the previous PM because of his reform agenda and background.
“But with that baggage, if he fails to deliver, he will be the worst prime minister. Because the previous prime minister did not promise much in terms of reform and all that,” Sevan said.
He was speaking at a conference in Kuala Lumpur to launch Suaram’s Malaysian Human Rights Report 2022 today.
He was asked for Suaram’s take on the Anwar-led federal administration, including whether the NGO is satisfied with human rights efforts by the government since it came to power last November.
According to Sevan, Anwar is supposed to be an exemplary leader in introducing reforms into the national agenda, especially in terms of bad laws, detention without trial and torture in custody
Many of the current cabinet members were also part of rights advocacy groups when they were in the opposition, he added.
"But now they are part of the government, you don't see this is coming.
"The last message we got in the press was that they were yet to be in the list of laws that the government want to amend," he stressed.
Cannot beat the drum
Among the laws that Sevan and Suaram were referring to include the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, Prevention of Crimes Act, Prevention of Terrorism Act, and Dangerous Drugs Act, which still have clauses that provide authorities to detain suspects for a lengthy period of time without having to charge them in court.
The NGO criticised Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for saying that Sosma was there to stay and the government was not going to abolish the law.
Sevan claimed that Saifuddin also had yet to engage stakeholders like Suaram to discuss law reforms.
However, he praised Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said and her deputy, as well as Saifuddin's deputy, whom he said had held engagement sessions with them to discuss important reform agendas.
Sevan said the government cannot beat the drum yet for having abolished mandatory death penalty in the country and had it replaced with alternative punishments.
Low-hanging fruit
According to the activist, the death penalty issue was only a low-hanging fruit and there are many more important laws that need to be reformed.
They include the Sedition Act, which Suaram believed should go as it curtails freedom of speech in the country.
"At one time when you (Anwar) were against the government, you said the government did not allow you to express yourselves (by using the law).
"So now is your turn (to be in the government). But we don't see this (change) coming.
"Several months have passed, and I would say the progress is slow."
Meanwhile, Suaram's right-to-trial coordinator Azura Nasron told reporters that all the government efforts so far were only coming from Azalina's ministry.
According to her, it was not satisfactory as the efforts were only on introducing law amendments and without immediate remedy for victims who are suffering from detention without trial.
"As we all know, introducing legal amendments takes a long time. But cases such as those being detained without trial under Sosma cannot wait any longer.
"Imagine the effects on the 33 detainees who have been in custody since June last year, and on their families.
"These people have yet to be found guilty for any crime, but they are being detained and their trial is set to take place only in 2024," she said.
Azura said this was why Suaram had been pushing the government and the Home Ministry to do something. - Mkini
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