Press Statement Lodging police reports in defence of Dr Mahathir not conducive to democratic change 17 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes with concern the recent increase in police reports being lodged by concerned individuals and pro-government NGOs against offensive statements made on social media targeting the new Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Such police…
Press Statement Immigration travel ban on suspects in criminal probes is justified 16 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes the concern over the overseas travel blacklisting of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, Rosmah Mansor, and other former high-ranking officials of the previous administration by the Immigration Department. The Immigration Department is a law enforcement agency,…
Press Statement The new Attorney-General must be independent of party politics 13 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes the impending appointment of the new Attorney-General (AG) and wishes to remind the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government that the AG must transcend party politics. Although we have pointed out previously that the AG is a political appointee,…
Press Statement Pakatan Harapan’s watershed victory must be followed by institutional and human rights reform 11 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty wishes to congratulate the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and their Parti Warisan Sabah allies on their historic win in the 14th General Elections on 9 May 2018. With the departure of the Barisan Nasional (BN)…
Press Statement Fake news probe on Mahathir proves public concern over the dangers of the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 3 May 2018 I refer to the fake news probe on Opposition PM candidate Tun Mahathir over his complaint that his flight was sabotaged. The probe upon Mahathir is beyond the scope of the Anti-Fake News…
Press Statement Stop all prosecutions under the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 pending outcome of test case 30 April 2018 I refer to news reports that a Danish man is to be charged today under the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 ( AFN 2018). The legal challenge to the constitutionality and validity of the AFN 2018 is…
Press Statement Tian Chua’s disqualification as Batu candidate is unlawful & outrageous 28 April 2018 I refer to this morning’s disqualification by the EC of Tian Chua, PKR’s candidate for Batu. The returning officer purported to disqualify Tian on grounds of a conviction under s 509 of Penal Code which carried an RM 2000 fine. The…
Press Statement MCMC sending unsolicited message to mobile phone users is an abuse of their power as regulator 26 April 2018 Lawyers for Liberty view with concern the recent SMS blast by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) exhorting Malaysians to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA 1998). As…
Press Statement The Anti-Fake News law will be the death knell for freedom of speech in Malaysia 26 March 2018 Lawyers for Liberty are extremely concerned with the tabling in Parliament today of the Anti-Fake News Bill 2018. The Bill has far-reaching implications for democracy and human rights, and should it be passed, be the death knell…
Press Statement The AG must appeal the lenient ‘binding over’ sentence against Datin Rozita Mohamad Ali for causing grievous hurt to her domestic worker 16 March 2018 Lawyers for Liberty are shocked and appalled by the extremely lenient sentence of ‘binding over’ for good behaviour that was handed down to Datin Rozita Mohamad Ali for…
Press Statement Government’s special committee to combat ‘fake news’ raises serious concerns 2 February 2018 Lawyers for Liberty view with serious concern the recent announcement by Minister Azalina Othman Said that Putrajaya has formed a special committee to formulate laws to tackle ‘fake news’. While we agree that fabricated news content is a concern, the…
Press Statement MCMC must address data security instead of persecuting social media users 24 January 2018 Lawyers for Liberty are deeply concerned with the continuous misused of power by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in persecuting social media users, the latest being DAP MP Nga Kor Ming and Pakatan Harapan’s Terengganu Women’s Wing Treasurer…
PRESS STATEMENT The police must strictly observe SOPs to prevent any further deaths in custody 20 January 2018 Lawyers for Liberty refer to the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission’s (EAIC) findings on the custodial death investigations of S. Balamurugan and Soh Kai Chiok as released through their press statements on 18 January 2018. In these statements,…
PRESS STATEMENT Set up a credible Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Wang Kelian mass graves and subsequent cover-up 20 December 2017 Lawyers for Liberty refer to the New Straits Times report today “Was there a cover-up in Wang Kelian?” on the discovery of mass graves of human trafficking victims in Wang Kelian, Perlis…
PRESS STATEMENT Police should cease investigating Professor Shad Faruqi 19 December 2017 Lawyers for Liberty view with extreme concern the criminal investigation against Professor Shad Saleem Faruqi regarding his article “Religious Radicalism on the Rise” published in The Star on 23 November 2017, which criticised the Malaysian Islamic Strategic Research Institute’s (IKSIM) stance on Islam…