For some, no shame, just fame

On 26 February, the Amnesty International released its annual report, documenting the state of human rights of 160 countries and territories in 2014, which also include Malaysia.

As highlighted both in the report and by the Amnesty International Malaysia’s executive director during the launch in Petaling Jaya, freedom of expression is identified as one of the core areas of concern in the section on Malaysia.

I quote:  “In Malaysia, human rights have worsened over the years. During the Chinese New Year celebration this year, we saw a crackdown on human rights defenders, opposition and student activists. They were arrested under the Sedition Act and the Penal Code was used in suppressing their voices. Everyone should be given the opportunity to voice their opinions. We don’t have to agree with these opinions, but it can be debated on.”

Then the next day, the latest Merdeka Centre survey showed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s approval rating had fallen again, dropping four percentage points from 48% in October 2014 to only 44% in January 2015.

Back in August 2014, the prime minister recorded a much positive rating of 54%. His best rating was 72% in May 2010.

I don’t know why but, for a moment, I thought how low could we go?

The public survey ratings and what is actually taking place on the ground share strong linkage.

The Amnesty International’s annual report also emphasized several other areas of human rights violations such as discrimination, refugees and asylum-seekers and the death penalty.

In the section on discrimination, for example, one of the key highlights is the abuse of power by the religious authorities as a justification for discrimination against minority religious groups.

At the same time, according to the most recent findings of Pew Research Centre, Malaysia is ranked at the 8th spot with high government restrictions on religion.

How do the policy-makers react to Malaysia’s human rights report cards?

Should they be “punished” in some way for keep getting bad grades?

Unfortunately, the government is not only abandoning its pledge to improve human rights in the country. The Malaysian government appears to be contented with its current regional responsibility as Asean chair and international role as a non-permanent member in the UN Security Council rather than attending to the serious criticisms and flaws that they are facing.

As rightly pointed out by the UN resident coordinator in Malaysia Michelle Gyles-McDonnough during a forum last December, “Malaysia is on the last leg of its journey to developed status. You cannot do the last leg without human rights.” – March 2, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.