DOCSLIB.ORG

Creating a Culture of Fear

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Creating a Culture of Fear HUMAN RIGHTS CREATING A CULTURE OF FEAR The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia WATCH Creating a Culture of Fear The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia Copyright © 2015 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-6231-32859 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org OCTOBER 2015 978-1-6231-32859 Creating a Culture of Fear The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia Map of Malaysia ............................................................................................................... i Glossary of Common Terms and Acronyms ....................................................................... ii Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 Overly Restrictive Laws as a Tool for Repression ........................................................................ 3 Targeting the Political Opposition ............................................................................................. 5 Targeting Civil Society .............................................................................................................. 6 Targeting the Media .................................................................................................................. 7 Targeting Social Media Users ................................................................................................... 8 Restrictions on Freedom of Assembly ....................................................................................... 9 Abusive Police Tactics and Selective Prosecution .................................................................... 10 Key Recommendations ................................................................................................... 12 To the Prime Minister and the Government of Malaysia ........................................................... 12 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 14 I. Background ................................................................................................................ 15 II. International and Domestic Legal Standards .............................................................. 20 The Malaysian Constitution..................................................................................................... 23 III. The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression ............................................................... 24 Sedition Act of 1948 and Amendments .................................................................................... 24 Sections 504 and 505(b) of the Penal Code: Offenses Against Public Tranquility ...................... 54 Section 505(c) of the Penal Code: Hate Speech ....................................................................... 58 Penal Code Sections 499-502: Criminal Defamation ............................................................... 60 Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984 (Amended 1988 and 2012) ................................ 65 Communications and Multimedia Act of 1998 (Amended 2006) ............................................... 74 Penal Code Section 124B-124N: Activity Detrimental to Parliamentary Democracy ................... 80 The Film Censorship Act ......................................................................................................... 84 The Peaceful Assembly Act of 2012 ......................................................................................... 87 Others Laws Used to Limit Freedom of Assembly ..................................................................... 93 IV. Abusive Police Tactics and Selective Prosecution ......................................................98 V. Profiles of Critics Targeted by the Government ......................................................... 105 Forbidding Cartoons: The Targeting of Zunar ......................................................................... 105 Wearing Down the Opposition: The Targeting of Rafizi Ramli ................................................... 111 VI. Other Laws that Restrict Freedom of Expression ....................................................... 115 The Official Secrets Act of 1972 (amended 1986) .................................................................... 115 Penal Code Section 203a: Disclosure of Information ............................................................. 118 Evidence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2012 ............................................................................... 119 Penal Code Section 503: Criminal Intimidation ...................................................................... 121 Penal Code Sections 298 and 509: Offensive Speech ............................................................ 122 Penal Code Sections 124G and 124I ...................................................................................... 123 VII. Recommendations ................................................................................................. 126 To the Government of Malaysia ............................................................................................. 126 To the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of the Government of Malaysia ................................... 126 To The Minister of Home Affairs ............................................................................................. 130 To the Attorney-General’s Chambers ..................................................................................... 132 To the Inspector General of Police ......................................................................................... 132 To the Malaysian Multimedia and Communications Commission ........................................... 133 To the Minister of Foreign Affairs ........................................................................................... 134 To SUHAKAM (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia) .......................................................... 134 To the UN Country Team and UN Resident Coordinator .......................................................... 135 To the United States, Japan, European Union Member States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, and the Republic of Korea ........................................................................................... 136 Appendix I: Letter to the Malaysian Government .......................................................... 137 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... 143 Map of Malaysia I HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | OCTOBER 2015 Glossary of Common Terms and Acronyms 1MDB 1 Malaysia Development Berhad Bersih Coalition for Free and Fair Elections BN Barisan Nasional, or National Front CMA Communications and Multimedia Act DAP Democratic Action Party EO Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance GST Goods and Services Tax ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights IGP Inspector General of Police ISA International Security Act JAKIM Malaysian Islamic Development Department MCMC Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission MP Member of Parliament OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights OSA Official Secrets Act PAS Parti Islam Se Malaysia, or the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party PAA Peaceful Assembly Act PKR Parti Keadilan Rakyat, or the People’s Justice Party PPPA Printing Presses and Publications Act PTA Prevention of Terrorism Act PSM Party Sosialis Malaysia, or the Socialist Party of Malaysia PSRM Party Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia RM Malaysian Ringgit RPDM Polis Diraja Malaysia, or the Royal Malaysia Police Suaram Suara Rakyat Malaysia SUHAKAM Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia, or the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia TMI The Malaysian Insider UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UMNO United Malays National Organization “CREATING A CULTURE OF FEAR” II Summary They are creating a culture of fear. If you engage in any talk of public interest, the police may come to your house, you may be arrested, taken to the police station, remanded. Even members of Parliament are treated that way. —Yap Swee Seng, former executive director of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Kuala Lumpur, April 14, 2015 Freedom of expression and assembly in Malaysia are currently under attack, aided by the existence of broad and vaguely worded laws that the government can wield to arrest, investigate, and imprison its critics. The recent increase in use of laws that criminalize peaceful expression is a step backward for a country that had seemed to be making progress on the protection of rights. This report examines how the Malaysian government is using and abusing such laws, and the ways in
Load more

Recommended publications
  • BMJ in the News Is a Weekly Digest of BMJ Stories, Plus Any Other News
    BMJ in the News is a weekly digest of BMJ stories, plus any other news about the company that has appeared in the national and a selection of English-speaking ​ international media. ​ This week’s (14 Nov-20 Dec) highlights include: The BMJ Christmas Research: Do heads of government age more quickly? ​ Christmas Research: Parliamentary privilege—mortality in members of the ​ Houses of Parliament compared with the UK general population In presidential politics, to the victors go the spoiled life expectancy - Reuters 15/12/2015 ​ Leading a Nation Takes Years Off Life, Study Suggests - New York Times 14/12/2015 ​ New study: Heads of state live shorter lifespans - CNN 14/12/2015 ​ Over 200 articles listed on Google News, including: US/Canada - Washington Post, Washington Times, Fox News, U.S. News & World ​ Report, USA TODAY, CTV News, Vox, Huffington Post Canada, National Post Canada, Business Insider, The Chronicle Journal, STAT, HealthDay, Discovery News, Newsmax, Inquirer.net India - The Times of India, Business Standard, New Kerala, The Indian Express, Asian ​ New International ROW: The Australian (blog), Sydney Morning Herald, Herald Sun, NEWS.com.au, South ​ China Morning Post, The Times of Israel, Arab News (Saudi Arabia), Gulf News (UAE), ​ Straits Times (Singapore), Star Malaysia, The Manila Times, Economy Lead, Science Codex, Medical Daily, Medical Xpress, Medical News Today Christmas Research: “Gunslinger’s gait”: a new cause of unilaterally reduced ​ arm swing Putin walks with KGB-trained 'gunslinger's gait': study - CTV News 14/12/2015
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE 9(6)(2020) 12-23 Research in Business & Social Science IJRBS VOL 9 NO 6 ISSN: 2147-4478 Available online at www.ssbfnet.com Journal homepage: https://www.ssbfnet.com/ojs/index.php/ijrbs Key adaptations of SME restaurants in Malaysia amidst the COVID- 19 Pandemic Hao Bin Jack Lai (a), Muhammad Rezza Zainal Abidin (b), Muhamad Zulfikri Hasni (c), Muhammad Shahrim Ab Karim (d), Farah Adibah Che Ishak (e) (a) Department of Food Service and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Article history: SME restaurants have reported declined earnings and faced challenges to remain open during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period imposed by the Malaysian government due to the Coronavirus Received 05 October 2020 (COVID-19) outbreak. SME decision-makers were observed to be making changes regarding their Received in rev. form 14 Oct. 2020 day-to-day operations and management strategies to mitigate MCO restrictions. This paper reviewed Accepted 18 October 2020 the significant adaptations made by SME restaurants in Malaysia throughout the MCO period through multiple primary and secondary literature utilizing a pragmatic approach. Three (3) prominent areas of adaptations made by decision-makers have been identified based upon ceaseless news reports and Keywords: media contents. The adaptations made commonly depict actions to (i) Nurture Creativity, (ii) Sustain Reputation, and (iii) Maintain Profitability. The outcomes of this paper provide essential survival COVID-19; SME restaurants; guides for SME restauranteurs to embrace the COVID-19 outbreak.
    [Show full text]
  • Provisional List of Cases Session N° 157, 13-17/10/2018
    Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians Provisional list of cases Session N° 157, 13-17/10/2018 The country name indicated below is that of the Parliament of which the parliamentarian is a member. In cases where more than one country is allegedly involved, the names of all relevant countries are indicated. Africa 1 Democratic Rep. Congo COD-71 COD-71 Eugène Diomi Ndongala 2 Democratic Rep. Congo COD-72 COD-72 Dieudonné Bakungu Mythondeke 3 Democratic Rep. Congo COD-86 COD-86 Franck Diongo 4 Mauritania MRT-02 MRT-02 Mohamed Ould Ghadda 5 Senegal SEN-07 SEN-07 CONFIDENTIAL CASE (1 MP) 6 Uganda UGA-COLL-01 UGA-19 CONFIDENTAL CASE (5 MPs) Americas 1 Venezuela VEN-COLL-06 VEN-10 Biagio Pilieri VEN-11 José Sánchez Montiel VEN-12 Hernán Alemán VEN-13 Richard Blanco VEN-16 Julio Borges VEN-19 Nora Bracho VEN-20 Ismael Garcia VEN-22 William Dávila VEN-24 Nirma Guarulla VEN-25 Julio Ygarza VEN-26 Romel Guzamana VEN-27 Rosmit Mantilla VEN-28 Enzo Prieto VEN-29 Gilberto Sojo VEN-30 Gilber Caro VEN-31 Luis Florido VEN-32 Eudoro González VEN-33 Jorge Millán VEN-34 Armando Armas VEN-35 Américo De Grazia VEN-36 Luis Padilla VEN-37 José Regnault VEN-38 Dennis Fernández VEN-39 Olivia Lozano VEN-40 Delsa Solórzano VEN-41 Robert Alcalá VEN-42 Gaby Arellano VEN-43 Carlos Bastardo VEN-44 Marialbert Barrios VEN-45 Amelia Belisario VEN-46 Marco Bozo VEN-47 José Brito VEN-48 Yanet Fermin VEN-49 Dinorah Figuera VEN-50 Winston Flores VEN-51 Omar González VEN-52 Stalin González VEN-53 Juan Guaidó VEN-54 Tomás Guanipa VEN-55 José Guerra VEN-56 Freddy Guevara VEN-57 Rafael Guzmán VEN-58 María G.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lahad Datu Incursion and Its Impact on Malaysia's Security
    THE LAHAD DATU INCURSION its Impact on MALAYSIA’S SECURITY by JASMINE JAWHAR & KENNIMROD SARIBURAJA “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” - Henry Ford - Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in Publication Data Jasmine Jawhar THE LAHAD DATU INCURSION AND ITS IMPACT ON MALAYSIA’S SECURITY ISBN: 978-983-44397-8-1 1. National security--Malaysia 2. Territorial waters--Sabah (Malaysia(. 3. Internal security-- Malaysia-- Lahad Datu (Sabah). 4. Security clearances-- Malaysia -- Lahad Datu (Sabah). 5. Lahad Datu (Sabah, Malaysia)-- emigration and immigration. I. Sariburaja, Kennimrod, 1983-.II. Title. 959.52152 First published in 2016 SEARCCT is dedicated to advocating the understanding of issues pertaining to terrorism and counter-terrorism and contributing ideas for counter- terrorism policy. The Centre accomplishes this mainly by organising capacity building courses, research, publications and public awareness programmes. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, transmitted or disseminated in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. All statements of facts, opinions and expressions contained in this work are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Malaysia. The Government of Malaysia assume no responsibility for any statements of facts or opinions expressed in this work. PUBLISHER The Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), Ministry
    [Show full text]
  • The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Scandal: Exploring Malaysia's 2018 General Elections and the Case for Sovereign Wealth Funds
    Seattle Pacific University Digital Commons @ SPU Honors Projects University Scholars Spring 6-7-2021 The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Scandal: Exploring Malaysia's 2018 General Elections and the Case for Sovereign Wealth Funds Chea-Mun Tan Seattle Pacific University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects Part of the Economics Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Tan, Chea-Mun, "The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Scandal: Exploring Malaysia's 2018 General Elections and the Case for Sovereign Wealth Funds" (2021). Honors Projects. 131. https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/131 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the University Scholars at Digital Commons @ SPU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ SPU. The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Scandal: Exploring Malaysia’s 2018 General Elections and the Case for Sovereign Wealth Funds by Chea-Mun Tan First Reader, Dr. Doug Downing Second Reader, Dr. Hau Nguyen A project submitted in partial fulfillMent of the requireMents of the University Scholars Honors Project Seattle Pacific University 2021 Tan 2 Abstract In 2015, the former PriMe Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, was accused of corruption, eMbezzleMent, and fraud of over $700 million USD. Low Taek Jho, the former financier of Malaysia, was also accused and dubbed the ‘mastermind’ of the 1MDB scandal. As one of the world’s largest financial scandals, this paper seeks to explore the political and economic iMplications of 1MDB through historical context and a critical assessMent of governance. Specifically, it will exaMine the economic and political agendas of former PriMe Ministers Najib Razak and Mahathir MohaMad.
    [Show full text]
  • 1930 1435218997 G1511786.Pdf
    United Nations A/HRC/29/NGO/87 General Assembly Distr.: General 9 June 2015 English only Human Rights Council Twenty-ninth session Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Written statement* submitted by the Aliran Kesedaran Negara National Consciousness Movement, non- governmental organization on the roster The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. [25 May 2015] * This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-governmental organization(s). GE.15-09265 (E) A/HRC/29/NGO/87 Crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly in Malaysia There has been a serious regression in Malaysia's democratic space in 2015, with the government's crackdown on freedom of speech and assembly, predominantly through the use of the Sedition Act 1948, Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, and various sections of the Penal Code. Freedom of speech and expression is enshrined in Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. However, the guarantee of such a right is severely limited and qualified by broad provisions in Article 10(2)(a), which stipulates that Parliament may impose “such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof”. Similarly, the freedom of assembly is enshrined in Article 10(1)(b) of the Constitution, but is restricted through Article 10(2), 10(4) and Article 149 of the Constitution.
    [Show full text]
  • Anwar Ibrahim
    - 8 - CL/198/12(b)-R.1 Lusaka, 23 March 2016 Malaysia MAL/15 - Anwar Ibrahim Decision adopted by consensus by the IPU Governing Council at its 198 th session (Lusaka, 23 March 2016) 2 The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Referring to the case of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a member of the Parliament of Malaysia, and to the decision adopted by the Governing Council at its 197 th session (October 2015), Taking into account the information provided by the leader of the Malaysian delegation to the 134 th IPU Assembly (March 2016) and the information regularly provided by the complainants, Recalling the following information on file: - Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, Finance Minister from 1991 to 1998 and Deputy Prime Minister from December 1993 to September 1998, was dismissed from both posts in September 1998 and arrested on charges of abuse of power and sodomy. He was found guilty on both counts and sentenced, in 1999 and 2000 respectively, to a total of 15 years in prison. On 2 September 2004, the Federal Court quashed the conviction in the sodomy case and ordered Mr. Anwar Ibrahim’s release, as he had already served his sentence in the abuse of power case. The IPU had arrived at the conclusion that the motives for Mr. Anwar Ibrahim’s prosecution were not legal in nature and that the case had been built on a presumption of guilt; - Mr. Anwar Ibrahim was re-elected in August 2008 and May 2013 and became the de facto leader of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (The People’s Alliance); - On 28 June 2008, Mohammed Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a former male aide in Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Publication
    Columbia Jurisprudence Conference Jurisprudence & Freedom of Expression in Malaysia By HR Dipendra OVERVIEW 2015 IN A NUTSHELL: 2015 has been inundated with a deluge of administrative clamp downs to the constitutional right of freedom of expression in Malaysia. Innocuous solecism and mordant comic strips were the subject of criminal prosecution. A number of activists, lawyers, editors, and students were arrested, remanded and/or prosecuted for expressing their opinions over Twitter, articles, and through cartoons. The Home Minister had issued a total of 28 Printing Presses and Publications (Control of Undesirable Publications) Orders in the same year banning the circulation of a total of 47 books, amongst others, 3 books by the cartoonist, Zunar as well as “Any yellow coloured clothing and which contains the words ‘Bersih 4’” and “Any other printed material and pamphlets which leads to Bersih 4 Rally”. Suspension orders were issued to two publications under the wing of The Edge Media Group. On an unprecedented move, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Malaysia took on the role of active policing and monitoring over social media platform, in particular, on Twitter. As aptly put by Human Rights Watch's Asia deputy director, Phil Robertson, the IGP "patrols the Twittersphere like a shark in open water". On the whole, year 2015 has not only been a tough year for the Fourth Estate of the country but it has also thrown woebegone and hermetic gossamer over the freedom of expression in Malaysia. THE JURISPRUDENCE ASPECT THE PAST: The cases which touch on the right of freedom of expression revolve around offences under two pieces of legislation in particular - the Sedition Act 19481 and Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 ('PPPA').
    [Show full text]
  • Internal Communication Clearance Form
    HAUT-COMMISSARIAT AUX DROITS DE L’HOMME • OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PALAIS DES NATIONS • 1211 GENEVA 10, SWITZERLAND Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers REFERENCE: UA MYS 6/2014: 1 October 2014 Excellency, We have the honour to address you in our capacity as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 25/2, 24/5, 25/18, and 26/7. In this connection, we would like to bring to the attention of your Excellency’s Government information we have received concerning charges against an increasing number of politicians, Members of the Parliament, lawyers, human rights defenders, political activists, academics and journalists in Malaysia among them Messrs. N. Surendran, Khalid Samad, R.S.N. Rayer, Rafizi Ramli, Viktor Wong and Azmi Sharom, and Ms. Teresa Kok- under the Sedition Act of 1948 for publicly expressing opinions, publishing books, articles, notes or disseminating opinions and information through different channels, including through the Internet and traditional media. According to the information received, at least 23 individuals have been charged under subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act of 1948 in recent months.
    [Show full text]
  • Rafizi Wants PKR Reps Besides Azizah to Decline Malaysiakini.Com Aug 29, 2014
    Rafizi wants PKR reps besides Azizah to decline MalaysiaKini.com Aug 29, 2014 PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli today congratulated newly-elected PKR youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad for declining PAS Youth's suggestion to nominate him for the Selangor menteri besar post. Rafizi also lauded Nik Nazmi's (left) statement calling on all PKR Selangr assemblyperson from the party to do likewise through open statements. This would be in line with the party's "unanimous decision" on Wan Azizah, Rafizi said. "As such, I call upon all assemblypersons from PKR to make an open statement to reject any nomination for the post of menteri besar by any party as a means to respect the PKR leadership decision," he said. The call follows the Selangor palace's request for Pakatan parties to submit more than two names for the post, and PAS' insistence that it would put up at least two from PKR for the post. While Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has finally tendered his resignation after failing to get the support of the majority of the state assemblypersons, the crisis is far from over. This is due to PAS' shifting stand on Khalid's replacement, despite a consensus agreement being beached at a Pakatan leadership meeting on Aug 17. While the outcome of the meeting was that Wan Azizah will be the sole candidate from Pakatan to be proposed to the palace, the sultan's request for multiple names has put PAS at odds with its coalition partners. Nik Nazmi: Thanks but no thanks Earlier today Nik Nazmi said he was grateful that PAS wants to nominate him soon as possible as Selangor menteri besar but he remains committed to supporting Wan Azizah's nomination.
    [Show full text]
  • Status of Women's Human Rights: 24 Years of CEDAW in Malaysia
    The Status of Women’s Human Rights: 24 Years of CEDAW in Malaysia Coordinated by Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) and the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) Women’s Aid Organisation PO Box 493, Jalan Sultan 46760 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Malaysia Tel: + 603 7957 0636 / 7957 5636 Fax: + 603 7956 3237 Email: [email protected] Website: www.wao.org.my Facebook: www.facebook.com/womensaidorg Twitter: @womensaidorg Copyright © 2019 Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) ISBN: 978-967-14799-3-3 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Cover, Layout and Design: Niva Arasan, Natasha Dandavati, and Sumitra Visvanathan Printer: Valley Printers TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 14 Chapter 02: INTRODUCTION 16 Chapter 03: CONTRIBUTING ORGANISATIONS 26 Chapter 04: NGO CEDAW SHADOW REPORT, FOR THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT’S REVIEW BY THE CEDAW COMMITTEE AT THE 69TH CEDAW SESSION IN FEBRUARY 2018 2 8 Chapter 05: STATUS REPORT ON THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT’S OBLIGATION DECLARED IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA 64 Status Report On The Implementation Of The CEDAW Committee’s Recommendations From 2006 64 Statements Of Intent Made On Recommendations Related To Women’s Rights During The Malaysian Government’s Examination At The Universal Periodic Review In Cycle 1 (2009) And In Cycle 2 (2013) 99 Malaysian Government’s Commitments Under The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 112 Chapter 06: ARTICLES 1 – 4: DEFINITION OF DISCRIMINATION, LAW,
    [Show full text]
  • Malaysia's Anti-Fake News
    TERRORISM DILEMMAS AND DEMOCRACY Malaysia’s Anti-Fake News Act A cog in an arsenal of anti-free speech laws and a bold promise of reforms Abstract: Malaysia’s surprising fourteenth general election result in May 2018 was widely hailed as the advent of a seismic shift for press freedom in the country. The country’s draconian media control armoury was often wantonly and oppressively applied over six decades under previous rule. Key actors from that era are now presiding over bold reforms that have been promised by the new government. In keeping with its election promises, the new govern- ment sought to repeal the hastily and badly drafted Anti-Fake News Act 2018 (AFNA). The Attorney-General Tommy Thomas wrote scathingly before the Act was passed and before taking office as the new A-G: The draconian effect of the entire bill renders it unconstitutional…This is a disgraceful piece of legislation drafted by a desperate government determined to crush dissent and silence critics. The bill is so hastily and poorly drafted that it cannot under any circumstances be improved by amendment. Instead, it must be rejected outright. (Thomas, 2018) The repeal effort, however, failed and the Act remains technically on the books. This article examines the Act against a backdrop of global responses to the ‘fake news’ phenomenon; provides an overview of Malaysia’s draconian armoury of laws that impinge on freedom of expression; discusses the fad- ing optimism for proper media regulation reform in Malaysia; and concludes that meaningful media regulation reform must go beyond repealing AFNA.
    [Show full text]