This is the post-refereeing version of the following article: YH, Khoo. 2014. Historical Accounts of the Human Rights Development in Malaysia from Independence to the Era of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Asian Profile. 42 (1). 45-56. HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYSIA FROM INDEPENDENCE TO THE ERA OF TUN DR. MAHATHIR MOHAMAD KHOO Ying Hooi Fellow University of Malaya Mailing Address: Department of International and Strategic Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.
[email protected] 1 This is the post-refereeing version of the following article: YH, Khoo. 2014. Historical Accounts of the Human Rights Development in Malaysia from Independence to the Era of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Asian Profile. 42 (1). 45-56. ABSTRACT The issue of human rights in Malaysia has been an on-going debate and burning topic involving various parties including policymakers, scholars, political activists and individuals. Its pervasive awareness within the society has been more sharply felt since late 1970s with the emergence of human rights-related non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This study is inspired by an interest to understand the historical accounts of the roles and contributions of Malaysian NGOs on human rights to the Malaysian state and society from the Independence until the administration of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. My purpose here is to analyze human rights movements’ issues in the social formation and in the process apprehend the character of the emergent civil society in Malaysia. Keywords: human rights, NGOs, Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad 2 This is the post-refereeing version of the following article: YH, Khoo.