SHAH ALAM, 22 Jan: The ugliness of the Federal Government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not only disliked by the people in this country, but it has also received criticism from the international human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW).
In the World Report 2014 released yesterday, the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government was criticised for not fulfilling promises sown during the 13th General Election (GE13).
Najib was not only reported as failing to fulfil his promises, but he had also restored some oppressive and repressive laws.
“He is still using the Sedition Act to prosecute activists and opposition leaders who question government policies despite his pledge to revoke it.
“Among the victims of the Sedition Act is the student activist, Adam Adli, who was detained for five days and was suspended from his studies until the trial of his case is completed,” they said.
In addition, the report also criticised the amendment to the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) which is regarded as oppressive in October by Najib’s administration.
“This controversial law clearly oppresses the people by allowing detention without trial and limits the detainees’ rights to appeal.
“It has also restored the practice of misusing it which is similar to other draconian laws prior to it such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Emergency Ordinance (EO),” they said.
The HRW also condemned the Sodomy II case involving the Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, which they said was deliberately created and is politically motivated.
Meanwhile, the HRW Asia Deputy Director, Phil Robertson, in a statement yesterday, urged the BN government to perform reforms and protect the human rights of the people in this country, including the opposition and activists.
“Since May, the government has violates human rights, restricted the freedom of expression and prosecuted activists who organised peaceful protests.
“Obviously, the Malaysian Government has responded to the poor results of the election by ignoring human rights instead of respecting it, and this needs to be changed,” he said.
