Press Statement No justification to depart from manifesto promise to abolish NSC Act 29 June 2018 Lawyers for Liberty refers to Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu’s statements stating that the National Security Council Act (NSC Act) will be reshuffled. The NSC Act was gazetted 2 years ago and has always been a source of concern to…
Press Statement Ex-CJ Hamid’s unwarranted attack upon the new Attorney-General is an assault upon the reform agenda 27 June 2018 We refer to the statement yesterday by former CJ Abdul Hamid Mohamad criticising A-G Tommy Thomas’ announcement that the AG’s Chambers will no longer represent the EC in court, and alleging that Thomas had said…
#ACT4CAT Coalition Joint Press Statement The Malaysian Government Must Accede To The UN Convention Against Torture 26 June 2018 On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture commemorated annually on 26 June, we, the #ACT4CAT Coalition — comprising the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), Bar Council Malaysia, Amnesty International…
Press Statement Harapan should not emulate BN-MIC methods to resolve statelessness 26 June 2018 We refer to the announcement yesterday of a group of 20 PH Indian elected representatives, in which they have called for the MIC-inspired SEDIC to be maintained to resolve issues involving Indians. This is clinging on to a vehicle created by…
Press Statement Eric Paulsen resigns as Executive Director, joins Fortify Rights as new Legal Director 25 June 2018 Lawyers for Liberty wishes to announce that Eric Paulsen, its co-founder and Executive Director has resigned and joined Fortify Rights as the new Legal Director. However, he will be based in Malaysia and remains as Adviser to…
Press Statement Raus Sharif must quit as CJ with immediate effect & not wait until 31 July, in view of his record of anti-fundamental rights decisions 23 June 2018 We refer to resignation of Tan Sri Raus Sharif as Chief Justice, which is set to take effect on 31 July 2018. This post-dated resignation came…
Press Statement The Attorney-General is right not to represent the Election Commission 22 June 2018 Lawyers for Liberty welcomes the announcement by the Attorney-General (AG) that his Chambers (AGC) will no longer represent the Election Commission (EC) in election petition cases. The previous practice of the EC obtaining legal representation from the AG, who acts…
Press Statement MACC & police must swiftly investigate and take action on the Najib-Shafee RM 9.5 million allegation 21 June 2018 We refer to the controversial allegation of payment of RM 9.5 million by former PM Najib Razak to the Sodomy 2 prosecutor Shafee Abdullah. This is an extremely serious matter, as it involves the…
Press Statement Malaysia’s military involvement in the Saudi-led coalition war in Yemen must end 19 June 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes with concern Malaysia’s involvement in the Saudi Arabia-led coalition war against Yemen that started in 2015 and continues to this day. We refer to various reports, including from the UN Panel of Experts on…
Press Statement Restoring our judiciary’s independence begins today 13 June 2018 Lawyers for Liberty welcomes the resignation of Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif and Court of Appeal president Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin effective 31 July 2018. Although the erosion of judicial independence has been decades in the making, the shocking move by the previous BN administration to…
Press Statement Call to make Internet access a constitutional right should be supported 12 June 2018 Lawyers for Liberty supports the recent call by Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo to make Internet access a constitutional right, or at the very least a legal right. Should this proposal become a reality, Malaysia will be…
Press Release The new A-G must make PH Govt’s manifesto promise of institutional & legal reforms his top priority 11 June 2018 We refer to the recent appointment of the new Attorney- General, and the pledges made in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto promising wide-ranging institutional and legal reforms. These pledges were to ensure that Malaysia…
Press Statement The IGP must cease the investigation against Kadir Jasin 7 June 2018 I refer to the statement made by the IGP that Kadir Jasin will be investigated under the Sedition Act, Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) and criminal defamation under the Penal Code over his blog entry on the YDP Agong. The IGP…
Press Statement Latest death in prison a test for PH government’s reform agenda 7 June 2018 Lawyers for Liberty views with extreme concern the death of 24-year-old prisoner Mariappan Manivannan in Bentong Prison, Pahang on 6 June 2018. We were informed by the deceased’s family members that Mariappan had been unwell for up to a…
Press Statement PH government must move away from previous BN policies that perpetuated statelessness 3 June 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes with concern the discriminatory policies of the National Registration Department (NRD) against stateless Malaysians, a practice that was prevalent under the previous BN government. Although it is early days, the new PH government does not seem to acknowledge…