SHAH ALAM, 14 Dec: The Federal Government is allegedly not serious about human rights in this country when they did not allow for the issue to be debated in Parliament, despite being urged many times.
The Member of Parliament for Seputeh, Teresa Kok, said that until today, the Federal Government has continues to not allow full debate of reports although the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has, since its formation in 1999, submitted 12 annual reports to Parliament.
“This certainly reflects the government’s lack of seriousness and commitment to human rights and democracy.
“What serious and effective role can Suhakam play if the government does not allow full debate of its reports in Parliament or remains unresponsive to its recommendations contained in the reports?” she said in a statement on her Facebook page recently.
Two days ago, the Suhakam Chairman, Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, said that he planned to see Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs to set up a permanent parliamentary committee on human rights which will serve as an interim measure to allow members of parliament to discuss human rights issues brought up in Suhakam‘s annual reports.
Teresa said that the Federal Government should also fulfil their pledged to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”, as stated by the Prime Minister two years ago.
“If Najib is serious about his “best democracy” declaration, he should allow full parliamentary debate of Suhakam‘s annual reports,” she added.
