KUALA LUMPUR – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said has proposed for Parliament to debate the Malaysian Human Rights Commission’s (Suhakam) 2020 Annual Report.
Addressing the lower House today, Azalina said that debate on the report will highlight the government’s commitment to protecting human rights involving various sectors of society.
“As Suhakam has already carried out its mandate to promote and protect human rights in Malaysia, this House calls for all parties to be responsible and support the government so that the recommendations and suggestions in the report can be approved.
“The government is confident that this debate session will provide a chance for parliamentary representatives to voice issues faced by their constituents, allowing the government to enact recommended measures to deal with raised issues,” she said while presenting her proposal.
She also said that matters addressed during previous parliamentary debates on prior Suhakam annual reports have not been “fully resolved” by the previous government, causing the same matters to be repeated in subsequent reports.
“The government today believes that there must be a political will to not just present the Suhakam annual report in this august House, but also to debate and discuss solutions to issues mentioned in the report.
“The political stability that exists today under the administration of the unity government will continue to enable the implementation of human rights reform agendas,” she added.
The Dewan Rakyat had last tabled and debated Suhakam’s (2019) annual report in December 2019.
On May 25, Suhakam chairman Datuk Rahmat Mohamad had said that the Suhakam 2020 Annual Report sheds light on pressing human rights concerns in Malaysia, particularly matters involving events during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a previous parliamentary written reply, Azalina had said that the 2021 Annual Report will be tabled in the third parliamentary sitting, which is expected to begin in November, while the 2022 Annual Report will be presented to the cabinet once it is finalised.
It was reported last year that 11 human rights non-governmental organisations had demanded an explanation from the government over the failure to table Suhakam’s annual reports in Parliament.
The groups pointed to Section 21(1) of the Human Rights Commission Act 1999 which states that Suhakam’s annual reports must be presented to Parliament no later than the first parliamentary sitting of the following year. – The Vibes, June 12, 2023
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