SUHAKAM: Education, Promotion and Publicity* SUHAKAM he Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (suhakam) has come a long way since its founding. It has made huge strides in improving the human rights situation in Malaysia, always working Twith the Government, ministries, Civil Society Organizations and activists to further its goals. Suhakam will continue to carry out its work diligently and purposefully to achieve its vision of a “Malaysian society where human rights are fully respected, protected and enjoyed equally by all” in the not too distant future. Human Rights Education The ultimate purpose of human rights education is to empower the peo- ple with human rights knowledge so as to ensure the protection, respect and fulfilment of human rights of every individual. Recognizing the im- portance of human rights education, suhakam through its Education and Training Division conducted several human rights education and training programs. suhakam collaborated with local and international organiza- tions such as the Judicial and Legal Training Institute (ilkap), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (unhcr) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization unesco( ) to or- ganize programs during the year. Suhakam also expanded its target group to include the Immigration Department, National Anti-Drug Agency, par- liamentarians and private entities. In 2018, University Utara Malaysia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with suhakam to undertake several joint programs pertaining to human rights and education. To further realize suhakam’s vision for human rights education to be taught in schools by 2020, su- hakam organized several strategic meetings with key actors in educa- tion. Suhakam met with Education Minister YB Dr. Maszlee Malik on 11 December 2018, Deputy Minister of Education YB Teo Nie Ching on 22 October and Director General of Education Datuk Dr. Amin Senin on 25 Human Rights Education in Asia-Pacific | Volume 9, 2019 HURIGHTS OSAKA 171 172 HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC · VOLUME 9, 2019 June. suhakam briefed them on suhakam’s Human Rights Best Practices in School Programme (atham) and Human Rights Modules for post-Pri- mary School Achievement Test (UPSR) and post-Form 3 Assessment (PT3) students. Suhakam’s idea to introduce human rights education in schools was well-received. Suhakam was requested to cooperate with the Ministry of Education (moe) to develop a human rights training module for the Teachers Training Institute and to give its input on human rights education to moe’s Curriculum Division. In order to gauge how well its training sessions were conducted and the level of knowledge the participants gained, suhakam introduced a more structured evaluation using an online form as well as a pre- and post-tests approach. Human rights modules for post-UPSR and PT3 students As highlighted in the 2017 Annual Report, suhakam completed two human rights modules for post-upsr and post-PT3 students in June 2018. Each module contains thirty activities. The objective was to educate stu- dents in primary and secondary schools on human rights through fun ac- tivities. Though the modules were developed for Standard 6 and Form 3 students, who would have had more free time in school after their upsr and PT3 examinations and before the school break at the end of the year, the activities are suitable for all primary and secondary students irrespective of their standard and form. Suhakam appreciates the contributions of moe officers as well as teachers from several schools in finalizing the modules during the two workshops which were held on 3 May and 28 June 2018, respectively. Following the completion of the modules, suhakam organized three Training of Trainers (tot) sessions to ensure that the teachers from atham schools could carry out the activities, as well as equip them with sufficient knowledge of human rights, particularly on the rights of the child. About sixty-two secondary school teachers and fifty-one primary school teachers attended the tot, see Table 1. Although the moe did not make the modules compulsory, it was in- teresting to note that several schools, among others, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (smk) Sentul, smk Gombak Setia and smk Taman Seri Kluang, carried out the activities with their students this year. Suhakam also dis- tributed compact discs of the modules to all atham schools to encourage them to utilize the modules. SUHAKAM: Education, Promotion and Publicity 173 Table 1. No. Program Date Venue 1. Training of Trainers on Human Rights Module Post- Port Dickson, Negeri 3 – 5 July UPSR/PT3 for South zone Sembilan Training of Trainers on Human Rights Module Post- 10 -12 July Alor Setar, Kedah UPSR/PT3 for North zone Training of Trainers on Human Rights Module Post- 17 – 19 July Kota Bharu, Kelantan UPSR/PT3 for East zone Training of Trainers on Human Rights Module Post UPSR and PT3 students for South zone held on 3- 5 July at Port Dickson. Moving forward, suhakam plans to publish and distribute the modules to all atham schools in hardcopy; expand tots to other atham and non- atham schools; and develop a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the activities in schools in the next two years to ensure that the objective of introducing the modules has been met. Awareness program on a Child’s Right to Safety Due to the good feedback from twelve mara Junior Science Colleges (mjscs) on the Child’s Right to Safety Awareness Program last year, su- hakam organized a similar program at another ten mjscs during the year, 174 HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC · VOLUME 9, 2019 which involved about 5,000 students, as well as follow-up programs at a few mjscs that were visited in the previous years. During the year under review, programs were held in the following mjscs: Table 2. No. Location Date 1. Jeli MJSC, Kelantan 10 March 2. Kota Putra MJSC, Terengganu 9 April 3. Besut MJSC, Terengganu 9 April 4. Batu Pahat MJSC, Johor 16 April 5. Kubang Pasu MJSC, Kedah 29 April 6. Tun Ghafar Baba (Jasin) MJSC, Melaka 9 May Whereas, the follow-up programs were held at the following mjscs: Table 3. No. Location Date 1. Tumpat MJSC, Kelantan 1 January 2. Pasir Salak MJSC, Perak 5 February 3. Taiping MJSC, Perak 19 February 4. Kuching MJSC, Sarawak 23 February 5. Pontian MJSC, Johor 29 March 6. Pengkalan Chepa MJSC, Kelantan 3 September The follow-up program was basically a continuation of the introductory program in which the students were divided into small groups and asked to prepare a chart based on one of the following themes: 1. What has your school done (activities or programs) to educate the students on bullying? 2. Senior vs Junior, who normally does the bullying? And how to over- come bullying from always taking place? As suhakam has conducted the program at all mjscs nationwide over the past three years, suhakam plans to shift focus to atham schools next year. SUHAKAM: Education, Promotion and Publicity 175 Roundtable with parliamentarians: Aligning national legislation with international standards on freedom of expression, access to information and press freedom In conjunction with International Day for Universal Access to Information which was celebrated on 28 September 2018, suhakam, unesco and the Parliament of Malaysia co- organized a “Roundtable with Parliamentarians: Aligning National Legislations with International Standards on Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Information and Press Freedom” on the same day. Apart from raising the awareness of the newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) on international standards with re- gards to freedom of expression, freedom of information and press freedom, the roundtable also served as an opportunity for lawmakers to have an in- depth discussion with local and international experts in order to identify the weaknesses of domestic laws with a view to narrowing the gap with interna- tional standards. About seventy participants attended the program. Apart from MPs and their officers, officers from the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Parliament of Malaysia and the media were also present. There were four discussion panels: i. Session One on the interplay between international standards, national laws, and the Federal Constitution was moderated by Dr. Lim Ming Kuok. The panelists were Mr. Amos Toh, legal advisor Roundtable with Parliamentarians: Aligning National Legislation with International Standards on FOI Access to Information and Press Freedom. 176 HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC · VOLUME 9, 2019 to the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression; Ms. Jennifer Jokstad, Human Rights Officer at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rightsohchr ( ) in Bangkok; and Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi, the holder of the Tun Razak Chair in Universiti Malaya; ii. Session Two on access to information, a pre-requisite for a func- tioning democracy, was moderated by Ms. Masjaliza Hamzah. The three panelists were Ms. Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, the Right to Information (rti) Commissioner of Sri Lanka; Mr. Toby Mandel, the founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, a Canadian-based international human rights ngo and Mr. Steven Sim Chee Keong, Malaysian Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports; iii. Session Three on “Proportionate, Necessary, Legitimate, and Prescribed by Law: Considerations to Defamation and Hate Speech” moderated by Commissioner Mr. Jerald Joseph. The pan- elists were Ms. Barbora Bukovska, Legal Director of Article 19; and Mr. Edmund Bon, the Malaysian Representative to the asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (aichr); iv. Session Four on collaboration between Parliament and other stake- holders was moderated by Dr. Lim Ming Kuok. The panelists were Mr. Bambang Harymurti, a former member of the Indonesian Press Council and ceo of tempo; Mr. Pieter Knapen, Secretary-General of the Belgium Press Council; and Datuk A. Kadir Jasin, Media and Communications Adviser to the Prime Minister.