Citing unresolved police misconduct and unnecessary use of security laws, Suaram says human rights still curtailed under Madani govt
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 –– Laws and practices curtailing freedoms still persist in Malaysia despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration continuing to highlight human rights as an integral part of the Madani government, a human rights report by Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) revealed today.
Released at the KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall by Suaram’s executive director Sevan Doraisamy, the Malaysia Human Rights Report 2024 highlighted persistent issues including police misconduct, restrictions on freedoms of assembly and expression, and what it called the “unjustified” use of security laws.
Among the glaring findings noted in the report include:
1. Police misconduct, shootings and custodial deaths
Suaram documented 170 cases of police between January and early November this year, which involved 190 counts of various misconducts such as corruption, extortion, physical violence and sexual violence.
However, 50 per cent of the misconduct cases have not seen any further updates beyond the initial investigation stage.
Cases involving corruption and extortion had higher rates of resolution, with charges brought in 45.6 per cent and 48.3 per cent of cases, respectively. But some categories such as sexual violence, did not see any reported outcomes at all.
Police shooting incidents more than doubled this year, with more than triple the fatalities, the report said.
This year, Suaram recorded 33 police shooting incidents which killed 29 individuals compared to only 14 incidents which killed 9 people last year.
The report also raised concerns over the lack of transparency on the reporting of custodial deaths.
The rights group said official figures on custodial deaths have been fluctuating between double digits in the last few years but custodial death cases reported in media surprisingly plummeted to only five this year.
2. Restrictions on freedom of assembly
Out of 68 assembles that took place this year, Suaram said close to 40 per cent of them — including rallies critical of Anwar’s leadership — were subjected to investigations.
The number of individuals investigated also increased by more than 50 per cent and the number of arrests also rose by over 60 per cent this year compared to last year.
The report also noted that 48 per cent of the investigated rallies were those held in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
3. Unjustified use of security laws
2024 also saw a heightened enforcement of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 or Sosma, with a total of 156 arrests made under this law.
Organised crime detentions under Sosma jumped tenfold from only 11 arrests in 2023 to 107 in 2024, involving five major high-profile crackdowns such as the Israeli firearms case and Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH).
However, the report noted that across four out of the five organised crime cases, the individuals were remanded by the police earlier before they were rearrested under Sosma.
As such, Suaram argued that the use of Sosma was unnecessary since the remand provided police with adequate time for investigations.
Similarly, terrorism-relates detentions under Sosma also rebounded sharply, with 27 cases compared to zero last year.
In contrast, no new detentions were reported under the Prevention of Crime Act (POCA) or the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).
Suaram said the government’s reliance on Sosma for terrorism-related detentions in 2024 indicated a reactive and disproportionate approach, even when the perceived threat level was low, as seen in the Ulu Tiram police station attack last May.
4. Restrictions on freedom of expression
Royalty-related content accounted for the highest number of cases (11 out of a total of 23 cases) booked under the Sedition Act this year, Suaram revealed in the report.
The remaining 12 cases include government-related content (eight cases) and religion-related content (four cases). Interestingly, no investigations on race-related content under the Act were reported this year.
The government also concurrently invoked Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) in 65.2 per cent cases investigated under the Sedition Act.
Suaram also highlighted that this year, the Sedition Act was also used to investigate human rights activists, namely Mukmin Nantang, for exposing the forced evictions of the Bajau Laut community in Semporna, Sabah.
This, it said, marked the first time the unity government has used the Sedition Act to investigate activists for whistleblowing human rights violations.
In March this year, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the Cabinet had agreed to amend the Sedition Act.
However, his deputy Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah told Parliament earlier this month that the government has no intentions of amending or repealing the controversial legislation.
