Malaysian government exercises its human rights….. to detain human rights activists
10th December 2007 was supposed to be the International Human Rights Day. However, due to pressure from the police and the Malaysian Government, the Malaysian Bar Council forego their rights to assemble and cancelled a planned walk for human rights freedom. The Malaysian Government, on the other hand, exercised their human rights unhindered by denying the rights of Malaysian human rights activists, led by a group of Malaysian Bar Council ‘defiant’ lawyers, to exercise their rights. Sounds all too confusing? I don’t blame you….
Malaysiakini reported today that a total of 9 people were charged in court for exercising their rights to assemble peacefully on the very day when human rights were supposedly to be celebrated the world over. Surprisingly or not, five out the nine were lawyers.
Malaysia is perhaps the only country up to now where there were so many lawyers arrested and charged for exercising their human rights. Another record is also proudly belong to Malaysia where Members of Parliments (of opposition parties) are constantly arrested and charged in courts for fighting the rights of the rakyat who have elected them into the office.
Mind boggling? Not so much when you considered a Deputy Prime Minister was unceremoniously sacked in 1998 and was beaten almost to death while in police custody by none other than the Inspector General of Police himself.
At this very moment of writing this piece, a classic case of human rights drama is unfolding right here in Kuala Lumpur where the Malaysian Government is exercising their human rights to deny yet another right. Bersih activists were denied their rights to assemble in front of the Malaysian Parliment House to submit a memorandum to protest the constitutional change being motioned by the BN elected representatives just so that one person at the helm of Malaysia’s Election Commission can continue serving the BN Government until age 66…. just nice for the present BN Government to conclude the next general election which is expected to be called before April 2008. Malaysiakini reported 10 were arrested, including 4 top opposition leaders.
Among those arrested are PKR information chief Tian Chua, PAS treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli and party committee member Dr Lo’Lo’ Ghazali, Parti Socialist Malaysia secretary-general S Arulchelvan.
Source : Malaysiakini
And if that is not enough, the BN Government is also considering to exercise further their human rights to use Internal Security Acts (ISA) upon any citizens that are deemed as threats to national security, although many believe that the ISA are used only upon those citizens who are viewed as threats to the BN Government.
Malaysia oh Malaysia…
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