RINGKASAN EKSEKUTIF
Tahun 2019 merupakan tahun yang amat penting selari dengan ulang tahun penubuhan SUHAKAM yang ke-20. Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (SUHAKAM) telah melangkah jauh sejak Parlimen meluluskan Akta Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia 1999 (Akta 597) pada 9 September 1999.The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) has come a long way since Parliament gazetted the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 (Act 597) on 9 September 1999.
A notable highlight of the year, and a timely 20th anniversary gift for SUHAKAM, was the parliamentary debate of the 2018 SUHAKAM Annual Report for the first time, on 5 December 2019. Parliamentarians, as representatives of their constituents, bear a responsibility to recognise and acknowledge human rights issues that exist, and to use the power of their office to seek effective and permanent solutions.
SUHAKAM mengalu-alukan pelantikan Anggota Suruhanjaya pada pertengahan tahun ini, diketuai oleh Tan Sri Othman Hashim sebagai Pengerusi serta dibarisi lapan lagi anggota bagi tempoh 2019 hingga 2022.
Pada 23 Ogos 2019 pula, Prof. Dato’ Noor Aziah Mohd. Awal telah dilantik sebagai Pesuruhjaya Kanak-kanak (OCC) memfokuskan gerak kerja kepada mempromosi dan melindungi hak kanak-kanak. Hak-hak tersebut merangkumi hak kanak-kanak orang asli, migran, pelarian, tidak berdokumen, tanpa kerakyatan dan kanak-kanak kurang upaya, yang semuanya didokong oleh Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Kanak- kanak. Pelantikan OCC ini menjadikan jumlah keseluruhan Anggota Suruhanjaya sebanyak sembilan orang.
Recognising that education is the most effective way to nurture future generations who understand, and therefore will promote and protect human rights as a matter of principle, SUHAKAM worked to strengthen its cooperation with the Ministry of Education. SUHAKAM focused on developing the Civic Education Module and providing input in the review of the National Education Policy. SUHAKAM recommends that the National Education Policy should include human rights education as a means to achieve the aspirations of the policy. At the same time, the Human Rights Best Practices in Schools Programme expanded from an initial 222 schools with the addition of another 246 schools from throughout Malaysia in 2019. SUHAKAM initiated talks with the Institutes of Teacher Education Malaysia to incorporate human rights knowledge in the syllabus for teachers from the year 2020.
SUHAKAM menjadi tuan rumah kepada Dialog Serantau berkenaan Konvensyen Menentang Penyeksaan dan Hukuman Lain yang Zalim, Tidak Berperikemanusiaan atau Menjatuhkan Maruah (UNCAT) pada bulan Julai. Projek ini dibiayai oleh geran Kesatuan Eropah (EU) bertujuan berkongsi amalan terbaik dan pengalaman yang dipelajari daripada pelaksanaan UNCAT antara negara anggota ASEAN dan OIC yang relevan, dibentangkan oleh pakar di peringkat serantau dan antarabangsa. SUHAKAM akan terus membantu dan memandang ke hadapan berkenaan penyertaan Malaysia kepada UNCAT pada suatu masa nanti.
Several Ministries consulted and invited SUHAKAM to serve as members of various committees to draft and make recommendations on new bills or laws to be amended. They include sexual harassment, gender equality, employment laws, and a study on alternatives to the death penalty. SUHAKAM consistently made recommendations for law reforms in accordance with international human rights standards. In the second half of 2019, SUHAKAM participated in several consultations convened by the Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Law), YB Datuk Liew Vui Keong, andsubmitted recommendations on a draft Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill. SUHAKAM also engaged with rule of law institutions, including the judiciary, government agencies and civil society organisations (CSOs) to partake and exchange views on law reform and human rights.
SUHAKAM mengalu-alukan pelantikan Ketua Hakim Negara yang baharu, YAA Tan Sri Tengku Maimun binti Tuan Mat, yang menyatakan sokongannya terhadap penglibatan berterusan hakim dan pegawai kehakiman mengenai isu hak asasi manusia. SUHAKAM ingin terlibat dalam proses semakan semula dan merangka undang-undang, terutamanya yang berkaitan dengan hak asasi manusia, dan secara idealnya dari peringkat awal proses perundangan.
Since 2016, SUHAKAM has advocated for the establishment of a Custodial Medical Unit (CMU), which will operate as a mobile clinic and manned by trained medical staff on site. As a result of positive engagement with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the CMU programme is expected to beestablished at five centralised lockups in early 2020. In addition, SUHAKAM also collaborated with the Prisons Policy Division to undertake a thorough review and reform of the prison management system, policies and practices, including compliance with minimum standards of detention following international standards such as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
SUHAKAM melengkapkan siasatan Inkuiri Awam (PI) berkenaan kehilangan Pastor Raymond Koh dan Amri Che Mat, pada Disember 2018. Berikutan pengumuman dan penerbitan laporan PI, Kementerian Dalam Negeri menubuhkan sebuah Pasukan Petugas Khas untuk menyiasat kehilangan kedua-dua individu tersebut.
Pada 14 Mac 2019, Laporan Kumpulan Kerja Malaysia untuk UPR Ketiga telah dipertimbangkan dan diterima pakai pada Persidangan Majlis Hak Asasi Manusia ke-40. Daripada 268 syor, Malaysia menerima sepenuhnya 147 syor, menerima sebahagian 37 syor dan mengambil maklum 84 cadangan yang selebihnya. Setelah menerima semua 11 syor UPR mengenai orang kurang upaya, komuniti ini mengharapkan agar diterjemahkan menjadi kenyataan tidak lama lagi, terutamanya mengenai akses kepada pendidikan, penjagaan kesihatan dan kemudahan fasiliti yang mesra orang kurang upaya.
Isu utama di Sabah adalah berkaitan dengan tanah, kewarganegaraan, dan pengenalan diri dan/atau dokumen perundangan peribadi. SUHAKAM telah membuat cadangan kepada pihak berkuasa dan berusaha untuk mengenal pasti penyelesaian terbaik bagi pelbagai aduan yang diterima, dan juga menyokong dasar penambahbaikan secara amnya. Sebagai sebahagian daripada usaha SUHAKAM untuk mencari penyelesaian dalam isu kewarganegaraan, SUHAKAM menandatangani Memorandum Persefahaman dengan Komnas HAM (Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia Indonesia) pada bulan April, yang akan membolehkan kedua-dua NHRI membantu antara satu sama lain merentasi sempadan negara. Berdasarkan advokasi aktif dan penglibatan berterusan dengan Kerajaan Negeri Sabah, khususnya Jabatan Tanah dan Ukur, terdapat peningkatan yang ketara daripada segi Hak Tanah Adat Orang Asal. SUHAKAM berharap dapat melihat lebih banyak perubahan positif pada masa hadapan.
Owing to many years of active advocacy and constant engagement with the Sabah Government, specifically the Land and Survey Department, there seemed to be notable improvements in terms of Native Customary Rights and land issues. SUHAKAM looks forward to seeing more positive changes on this front shortly.
Citizenship issues formed the majority of complaints received by the Sarawak office. They mainly relate to children’s citizenship, late registration of births or identification cards for residents in ruralareas, as well as children whose mothers are foreigners. SUHAKAM welcomed the amendment of the Land Code in 2019. It is vital to have fairer land laws to obviate the injustice suffered by natives who lack access to knowhow and the law but are forced into litigation to claim their rights. This will pave the way for Sarawak natives to proceed with more clarity and confidence in claiming their NCR rights, instead of undergoing the test of a judicial examination.
Recurrent issues faced by the Orang Asli community include the lack of access to clean water, the opening of plantations surrounding their settlements and land encroachment, and difficulty in accessing health and education services for children. SUHAKAM continued to engage with the Government, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (National Unity and National Wellbeing) YB Senator Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy and JAKOA to seek permanent solutions to issues that affect the Indigenous Peoples (IP), especially in light of several tragic events, including the deaths of some indigenous people. SUHAKAM would also like to highlight that villagers often raise issues of access to clean water during the SUHAKAM Bersama Masyarakat events held at various rural areas throughout Malaysia.
SUHAKAM mengadakan beberapa lawatan ke depot tahanan imigresen dan mendapati kebanyakkan depot tahanan ini tidak sesuai dan tidak mempunyai kemudahan untuk memenuhi keperluan kanak- kanak. SUHAKAM dan CSO menyokong keperluan untuk mengenalpasti dan melaksanakan alternatif kepada penahanan kanak-kanak. SUHAKAM mengesyorkan agar SOP yang berkaitan dengan penahanan kanak-kanak perlu dipertingkatkan, dan memulakan projek perintis di mana kanak-kanak ini diletakkan di bawah penjagaan masyarakat atau tempat perlindungan di bawah badan bukan kerajaan.
Terdapat beberapa laporan kejadian yang berkaitan dengan sekolah tahfiz sepanjang tahun ini, termasuk kematian pelajar dalam kebakaran dan dakwaan penderaan fizikal dan seksual. Susulan itu, SUHAKAM telah melawat beberapa sekolah tahfiz untuk memahami permasalahan mereka. SUHAKAM juga bekerjasama dengan jabatan agama negeri untuk menganjurkan Bengkel Hak Asasi Manusia bagi Pentadbir Sekolah Tahfiz. Semua isu yang berkaitan dengan sekolah tahfiz dibawa semasa mesyuarat dengan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Agama), YB Datuk Seri Dr. Mujahid Yusof, JAKIM dan pihak berkuasa agama negeri.
Child marriage is still an alarming issue in Malaysia. Aside from the call for the Government to raise the minimum statutory age of marriage for both men and women to 18 years, SUHAKAM also urged the Government to tackle the root causes of the issue, including increasing children’s awareness and education of their rights. There is also a need to conduct effective awareness programmes on sexual and reproductive health for the wider public.
SUHAKAM embarked on a study on discrimination against transgender persons based in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The findings were published in March 2019. It is SUHAKAM’s view that the rights and dignity of the transgender community is no different from members of all other communities. They should be respected and protected from discrimination, harm and violence, regardless of their sexual orientation.
SUHAKAM bekerjasama dengan Fortify Rights untuk menerbitkan laporan ‘Sold Like Fish’. Laporan ini menumpukan kepada jenayah yang dilakukan oleh pemerdagang manusia terhadap pelarian Rohingya di laut dan kem pemerdagangan manusia di Malaysia dan Thailand. Mangsa yang terselamat daripada kekejaman ini di Malaysia berhak mendapat perlindungan di bawah undang-undang Malaysia sebagai mangsa pemerdagangan. Justeru, adalah penting untuk mengetahui sama ada Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja Wang Kelian, yang ditubuhkan oleh Kementerian Dalam Negeri, dapat mengenal pasti pelaku dan keadilan akan dilaksanakan dengan sewajarnya.
SUHAKAM conducted a consultation to obtain views from relevant stakeholders and consequently made a submission to the Ministry of Human Resources, specifically on the issue of protection for jobseekers against discrimination which was being withdrawn from the Employment Act (EA). SUHAKAM issued a press statement, stating that removing the jobseekers protections from the EA amendments would allow for pre- employment discriminatory practices to continue. SUHAKAM recommends that the prohibition on discrimination under Article 8(2) Federal Constitution be upheld.
After Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law) YB Datuk Liew Vui Keong announced that Cabinet had decided that all human rights matters, including the development of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR), be placed under his ministerial portfolio, SUHAKAM provided advice and input on the initiation and development of a NAPBHR for Malaysia.
SUHAKAM reiterated its position for the repeal of the Sedition Act 1948. SUHAKAM also recommended the reinstatement of the agenda to reform laws and enforcement regulating hate speech and to comply with international human rights standards. This would ensure better respect and protection of the right to free speech as guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
SUHAKAM supports the initiatives undertaken by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Religious Affairs with the introduction of Rahmatan lil ‘Alamin and Maqasid Syariah, both of which stress the same global principles underscored for the promotion and protection of human rights. Nonetheless, SUHAKAM recognises that there is a need for further improvements in policy and administration, to strengthen public comprehension in the positive relationship between Islam and human rights in Malaysia.
SUHAKAM menyambut baik keputusan kerajaan untuk menghapuskan hukuman mati mandatori bagi 11 kesalahan di bawah Kanun Keseksaan dan Akta Senjata Api (Penalti Lebih Berat) 1971 seterusnya memacu ke arah penghapusan keseluruhan hukuman mati di negara ini. Pesuruhjaya SUHAKAM, Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai dilantik sebagai ahli jawatankuasa khas untuk mengkaji dan membuat cadangan kepada menteri mengenai hukuman alternatif kepada hukuman mati dan langkah-langkah peralihan untuk banduan hukuman mati semasa. Susulan itu satu konsultasi diadakan pada bulan Oktober untuk mendapatkan pandangan daripada pihak berkepentingan dan mengemukakan penemuan tersebut kepada Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Undang-undang).
SUHAKAM receives an annual grant from the government under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999. Financial limitations with regard to staffing and programmes prevent SUHAKAM from undertaking or delving into a broader range of human rights issues. Taking into account the increasing demands in terms of delivering its four mandates, by and with the government, civil society and the public, there is an urgent need for the annual grant to increase in tandem.
In conclusion, SUHAKAM urges the Malaysian Government to commit to accepting more recommendations, particularly those related to the accession of the six remaining core human rights treaties and withdrawal of all reservations to the conventions which it has ratified. SUHAKAM reiterates its call to establish a Permanent Inter-Ministerial Tracking System for effective coordination on human rights issues.
Banyak pihak termasuk kementerian, ahli parlimen dan jawatankuasa parlimen, CSO, agensi PBB dan Pelapor Khas, pertubuhan antarabangsa, serta ASEAN melalui AICHR, telah meningkatkan keterlibatan bersama SUHAKAM dalam banyak bidang. Memandangkan skop isu hak asasi manusia yang luas, pertambahan penduduk yang semakin meningkat, ia menjurus kepada peningkatan pelanggaran hak asasi manusia. Oleh itu, SUHAKAM mengalu-alukan kerjasama dalam mencapai objektif yang sama.
SUHAKAM menggesa kerajaan, semua ahli politik dan parlimen untuk menggelakan penggunaan ‘hak asasi manusia’ sebagai alat untuk keuntungan politik, tetapi sebagai pendekatan dalam memperbaiki kesilapan, sebagai wacana untuk memperjuangkan sebuah masyarakat yang adil, dihormati, saksama dan mampan tanpa meminggirkan mana-mana pihak.
Our annual report for 2019 is ready for viewing and download now. Please find the links below to read our Annual Report 2019 now.
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