Suaram has zoomed in on alleged oppression by Perikatan Nasional when it led the government at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In their report titled “State of Disruption: Assessing The Impact of Malaysia’s Covid-19 Laws on Civic Space”, it said the "repressive" laws abused by the Muhyiddin Yassin administration involved the Sedition Act.
Others were the Communications and Multimedia Act and the Peaceful Assembly Act.
“Muhyiddin’s rule, for many, has been defined by backsliding in reforms that Pakatan Harapan had tried to initiate.
“It was seen as a continuation of the Umno government in the past; to systematically close spaces for dissent and to crackdown on fundamental freedom.
“Even today, the acts are still active,” said Women's Aid Organisation's (WAO) P Ilaiya Barathi, who presented the report’s findings at Petaling Jaya today.
Ilaiya further elaborated on the usage of the CMA towards press freedom, calling it the former government’s “weapon of choice” to target critics during the pandemic.
He cited the case of South China Morning Post Malaysia correspondent Tashny Sukumaran, who was questioned at Bukit Aman for two hours under section 504 of the Penal Code and section 233 of the CMA.
She was questioned for her Twitter posts about the Immigration raid at the Selangor Mansion in 2020.
Section 504 of the Penal Code pertains to intentional insult intending to provoke a peace breach.
Section 233 of the CMA meanwhile criminalises sharing of offensive and menacing content, with a maximum fine of RM50,000 or a jail term not exceeding one year or both.
Touching further, Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy lamented the Anwar Ibrahim government’s lacklustre response towards the Sedition Act, emphasising that promises made by the Cabinet ministers were not being kept.
“Many members of Parliament, within the government now, were part of the fight against the Sedition Act because when they were in opposition. They were investigated under the act.
“They were very loud (about the act) and called for its abolishment. Where are those voices now?
“Every time we raise the issue (to abolish the act)... they (the current government) said it’s not on the table yet. That’s very disappointing,” Sevan added.
Meanwhile, Suaram’s report also questioned the Muhyiddin administration’s decision to amend the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
It claimed that it weaponised the declaration of the state of emergency.
The report's executive summary claimed Muhyiddin's government implemented restrictive regulations that did not adhere to non-discrimination, legality, necessity, or proportionality principles.
In relation to that, it stated that these measures will significantly impact Malaysia's political and human rights environment.
Muhyiddin became prime minister in 2020 after leading his Bersatu members to exit the former Harapan government under the “Sheraton Move”.
He was forced to step down after 17 months due to waning support and was replaced by Barisan Nasional’s Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Impact on marginalised groups
Another issue in the report was the impact of the former government’s pandemic measures towards minorities and refugees.
Ilaiya explained that refugees and stateless persons were often excluded from Covid preventive initiatives, such as being denied vaccinations or sent back to their origin countries by the Immigration Department despite lockdown restrictions.
He also claimed that there were policies that blamed the spread of the virus on migrant and refugee groups, including the Rohingya refugees.
“Undocumented migrants were detained and placed in detention centres that barely adhered to Covid restrictions.
“There was speech calling for violence against the Rohingyas and other undocumented migrants (which) spread widely online, including from public officials.
“There was even a post shared by the Armed Forces which asked the public to be its ‘eyes and ears’ and report undocumented migrants,” he said.
Ilaiya also recalled when the former government conducted a series of raids on undocumented migrants in Selangor in 2020.
The raids were defended by former inspector-general of police Abdul Hamid Bador who said they prevented migrants from “moving freely” while the movement control order (MCO) was still in place.
In addition, Ilaiya stressed that migrants lost jobs and nearly lost their lives during the pandemic due to the policies that inevitably contributed to the rapid increase in xenophobic sentiments within the country.
Today's report was partly based on interviews with Malaysian civil society activists involved in the human rights movement and information from independent media outlets and official government websites.
The paper also includes the conclusions from the October 2021 National Policy Dialogue, which included 17 participants, three MPs, and two former Suhakam (Malaysia's Human Rights Commission) commissioners.
It stated demands for the current government to address inequalities and systemic issues that stemmed from its predecessors.
There were also calls for human rights defenders to be recognised and that more protection mechanisms should be implemented.
It also urged the government to attend to issues surrounding the public healthcare system concerning contract doctors and health inequity. - Mkini
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