Human rights in Malaysia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are some major human rights violations in Malaysia and some of the non-governmental organisations working in this field are:
Human Rights violated include:
- The right to vote freely
- Freedom of Religion
- Equality of Religion
- Independence of the legal system
- Freedom from Torture
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom from Discrimination
- Homosexual Rights
In addition, there is the government-sponsored Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, Suhakam
There have been cases of flagellation in prisons and they were confirmed by the authorities.[1]
The government's objective is for Malaysia to become a fully developed country by 2020 as expressed in Wawasan 2020. It leaves unanswered, however, the question of when and how Malaysia will acquire a first world political system (a multi-party democracy, a free press, an independent judiciary and the restoration of civil and political liberties) to go with its new economic maturity.
In November 2007, two of the largest political rallies since 1998 took place in Kuala Lumpur challenging the government of Abdullah Badawi. The Bersih rally was held on 10 November and the HINDRAF rally on 25 November. The Bersih rally was organised by a number of non-governmental organisations and opposition political parties to demand electoral reform in Malaysia and about 50,000 people took to the streets.[2] The HINDRAF rally was organised by HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Front) and was attended by at least 10,000 protesters, mainly ethnic Indian, demanding equal social and economic rights from the Bumiputras.[3]
In a letter dated 10 December 2007, the internal security ministry banned the Malay-language section of a Catholic weekly newspaper, the Catholic Herald due to its use of the word Allah.[4]
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[edit] Treatment of migrants
Malaysian police on 9 March 2003 rounded up around 27 Indians, including many IT professionals, and allegedly defaced their passports, slapped and kicked several of them before releasing all but five later. This despite their having valid permits to work and live in the country.
Police carried out a dawn swoop in search of illegal immigrants on one high-rise apartment building in the ethnic Indian dominated neighbourhood of Brickfields in central Kuala Lumpur.
Some showed they were working for companies registered in Malaysia's Multi-media Super Corridor, the information technology project zone running from Kuala Lumpur to the new development of Cyberjaya, some 45 minutes' drive away.
Infosys Technologies chairman, N R Narayana Murthy, strongly criticised the ill-treatment of Indian IT professionals in Malaysia and asked the government to sort out the issue fast. [1][2]
[edit] References
- ^ 'Blut'-Video: Malaysia streitet über Prügelstrafe - Politik - stern.de
- ^ "Teargas used on rare Malaysia demo", CNN, 2007-11-10. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ "Ethnic Indian protesters clash with Malaysian police", The Independent, 2007-12-26. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ Company News Story
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Home for Human Rights
- Censorship in Malaysia - IFEX
- case studies relating to human rights violations in Malaysia especially with regard to police abuse and custodial deaths
- Malaysia: Human rights undermined: Restrictive laws in a parliamentary democracy - Amnesty International
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