PETALING JAYA: It is crucial for the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) annual report to be debated in Parliament to allow parliamentarians to discuss human rights issues and propose possible solutions.
Suhakam commissioners Mah Weng Kwai and Jerald Joseph said one of the commission’s duties is to publish a yearly report so that current issues concerning human rights in the country could be debated in Parliament.
“It was debated last year, thanks to the late Liew Vui Keong. (Although) it was a short debate, it showed the government at the time took these matters seriously enough to discuss it,” Mah said yesterday.
Human rights issues concern the whole country and its people, and issues such as migrant workers and the treatment of Rohingya refugees have an impact on a global scale, he added.
Jerald expressed hope that the current government would take these matters seriously. He pointed out that there has been minimal conversation regarding human rights by the current government.
“I am disappointed since there was hope of parliament taking human rights issues more seriously after debating it last year. It is heartbreaking and it feels like we are back to the old times,” he said.
“Human rights does not seem to be at the top of their agenda, and I don’t buy the excuse of lack of time since these are issues concerning the people.”
De facto law minister Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan recently said Suhakam’s 2019 annual report would not be debated in parliament this year.
“The government does not plan to table a motion to debate this report as government affairs are the priority, based on the standing order. There is also not enough time,” Takiyuddin said.
This decision also left other non-governmental organisations disappointed.
All Women’s Action Society (Awam) said a debate in Parliament would bring awareness to human rights issues, allow the government to be transparent about such issues and to acknowledge their existence, and set a foundation for human right infractions to be righted.
Awam programme and operations manager Nisha Sabanayagam said human rights should always be high-priority, regardless of the government of the day.
“In regard to women’s human rights, priority must be given for the topic of child marriages to be discussed. At the very least, this topic should be debated and decisions made to implement the five-year national strategic action plan on child marriages, which is currently awaiting Cabinet approval,” Nisha said.
