Press Statement Cease investigation into The Malaysian Insight 13 December 2017 Lawyers for Liberty view with extreme concern the investigation by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on The Malaysian Insight regarding the editorial titled “A sham of an RCI” which criticised the recently concluded Royal Commission of Inquiry on the foreign exchange losses…
Press Statement Proposed amendments of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 interfere with judicial functions 24 November 2017 Lawyers for Liberty view with grave concern the proposed bill to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 that was tabled in Parliament yesterday that essentially allows the Public Prosecutor to determine whether or not to impose the death…
Press Statement MCMC must prioritise internet and data security 21 November 2017 Lawyers for Liberty view with extreme concern the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities especially the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in handling the massive personal data breach involving more than 46 million mobile phone users and from other websites. The data breach…
An Urgent Call for Reform in the Post-Mortem Process in Custodial Deaths It has long been established at common law that deaths that occur while a person is in the custody of the state are of particular concern as they occur behind closed doors and involve persons who are exceptionally vulnerable. All such cases must…
Press Statement MCMC must justify censoring Lowyat.net report on a serious personal data breach 20 October 2017 Lawyers for Liberty view with extreme concern the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) heavy handed approach in ordering Lowyat.net to remove the report titled “Personal data of millions of Malaysians up for sale, sources of breach still unknown”…
Press Statement Make public the draft Political Donations and Expenditure legislation 17 October 2017 Lawyers for Liberty view with serious concern the proposed Political Donations and Expenditure legislation that is currently being drafted by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (Integriti) and is expected to be completed soon. The legislation seeks to regulate ‘political funding’ and little is known about its…
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today rejected a Sabah church’s bid to find out why the government banned the word “Allah” in non-Muslims’ publications, saying such government information is classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972. Lawyer Annou Xavier, who represented the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Sabah church, confirmed that the court had dismissed his…
KUALA LUMPUR: Dance producer Bilqis Hijjas who was accused of “insulting behaviour” for dropping yellow balloons at a 2015 event attended by the prime minister and his wife has been ordered to enter her defence in court. High Court judge Datuk Indera Mohd Sofian Abd Razak today reversed the dance producer’s acquittal and sent her…
Press Statement Unwarranted arrest and detention of Mustafa Akyol 26 September 2017 Lawyers for Liberty view with extreme concern the arrest and overnight detention of leading Turkish author and columnist Mustafa Akyol at KLIA as he was about to leave the country yesterday. He was arrested after he was summoned by the Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Department (JAWI)…
PETALING JAYA: The suspects in the tahfiz fire case cannot be tried as adults, said Bar Council president George Varughese. He told theSun that under the Child Act, anyone below 18, will be regarded as a child. “The Child Act bars the sentence of death, if one has committed an offence whereby the death penalty can be…
PUTRAJAYA: Former Malaysian Bar president Datuk S. Ambiga loses her bid to obtain the green light from the Federal Court to appeal over the Sabah State Immigration Department’s decision to ban her from entering Sabah in November 2014. Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, chairing the Federal Court three-man bench, unanimously dismissed Ambiga’s…
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian authorities scrapped an annual beer festival on Monday (Sep 18) after an Islamist party objected to the event that had been planned for the first weekend of October in the country’s capital. Though there are plenty of beer drinkers among the sizable Chinese and Indian minorities, protests against events deemed to be…
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court will hear appeals brought by parents in three separate cases if stateless children could be accorded citizenship. This follows a decision by the Federal Court’s three-man bench today, to allow leave sought by the parents of children who were born in Malaysia but could not be granted citizenship to proceed with their…
PUTRAJAYA: Rohingya fleeing persecution from Rakhine state in Myanmar will be permitted entry into Malaysia but the Immigration Department would still need to distinguish between genuine refugees and economic migrants. “The influx will happen, and Malaysia is one of the refugees’ destinations. I want to emphasise that we will follow whatever policy decisions made by…
Our Top Five Recommendations for the new Inspector-General of Police We at Lawyers for Liberty congratulate Datuk Seri Mohd Fuzi Harun on your recent promotion as the new Inspector-General of Police. As you may know, we work on numerous human rights and constitutional issues, and in the process we have had more than our fair share of…