A listing of HAKAM’s campaigns
Let Friends of HAKAM, Jo Kukathas, Farah Hani, Patrick Teoh, tell you their reasons for supporting Bersih 2.0, for attending the Bersih 5 rally, and their beliefs in speaking up when we want a better government and why we ought to join them in the Bersih 5 rally on 19 November.
Jom, Bersih 5!
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You can either pay cash and collect your t-shirt in person at
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A-3-7, Avenue 8, Jalan Sg Jernih 8/1, Section 8, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
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or
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BY AMBIGA SREENEVASAN
The Senate (unsurprisingly) passed the National Security Council Bill 2015. This, despite Senators from both sides of the political divide voicing a range of concerns about it. That did not stop the government from pushing the Bill through without compromise.
Lawyers and activists across the nation have been warning for weeks of the dangers of the Bill and how it violated the Federal Constitution and the sanctity of the rule of law. It would have been in the interests of the nation to have had further discussion on it. Yet the government remained stubborn and did not even show a willingness to listen to reason. What we had was a government acting in haste, willing to overlook clear constitutional and legal impediments to the Bill, and taking the attitude that they know best. This should have triggered alarm bells. It was therefore irresponsible to say the least, to deliver them this Bill, unaltered.
Make no mistake. This Bill gives absolute power to the Prime Minister to declare an area a “security area”. Once an area has been declared a “security area” it becomes a legal black hole. Anything can be done there by the security forces including arrest, seizure of property and even killing, without any of the usual legal safeguards.
“It is absolutely untrue that the Prime Minister has absolute power” thundered the Bill’s proponents. But the clear wording of the Bill contradicts them. They are set out below for the readers to judge for themselves. Read more
10 December 2015
Since 1950, the world marks 10th December as Human Rights Day. It is a day to create awareness to fundamental human rights, in particular as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.
This year, the National Human Rights Society (HAKAM), in collaboration with The Malay Mail Online, is pleased to gift you 7 articles, daily from 10 to 16 December 2015 in celebration of Human Rights Day 2015, aimed at bringing attention to selected and specific interest areas concerning human rights in Malaysia.
Happy reading!
#HAKAM-MMO Human Rights Day 2015 project
10 December 2015
—IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY
(The National Security Council (NSC) 2015 Bill)
—DEMI KEPENTINGAN KESELAMATAN NEGARA
(Rang Undang-undang Majlis Keselamatan Negara 2015)
By Robyn Choi, Secretary-General, HAKAM
11 December 2015
—TPPA: TRADING HUMAN RIGHTS
—TPPA: MEMPERDAGANGKAN HAK-HAK ASASI MANUSIA?
By Karina Yong, Member of HAKAM, and Legal Consultant to Third World Network Malaysia
Image: “TPPA: Malaysia Is Not For Sale” books sits on display during its launching at the Karangkraf Complex in Shah Alam on July 11, 2014. The Malaysian Insider/Najjua Zulkefli
12 December 2015
—THE INEVITABILITY OF ERROR
—KESILAPAN YANG TIDAK DAPAT DIELAKKAN
By Abdul Rashid Ismail, Immediate Past President, HAKAM
13 December 2015
—51% OF THE MALAYSIAN BAR ARE WOMEN, SO WHY WON’T THEY SPEAK UP?
—51% BADAN PEGUAM MALAYSIA TERDIRI DARIPADA PEGUAM WANITA, JADI KENAPA MEREKA TIDAK BERSUARA?
By Animah Kosai, Member of HAKAM, and Founder of Surya Women, a group of women who seek to mentor and motivate women in the working world
14 December 2015
—TRANSPERSONS: RIGHT TO LIVE YOUR LIFE
—INSAN TRANSGENDER: HAK UNTUK MEMILIH JALAN HIDUP
By Ivy Josiah, Member of the HAKAM Executive Committee
Image: “Another Yin-Yang-Yuan Butterfly TransGender-Symbol” – By ParaDox, shared under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Germany license, drawn from Wikipedia
15 December 2015
—CHILDREN: SEEN BUT NOT HEARD
—KANAK-KANAK: JELAS KELIHATAN TETAPI USAH DIDENGAR?
By Robyn Choi, Secretary-General, HAKAM
16 December 2015
—A MODEST PROPOSAL: A CALL FOR MALAYSIA TO SIGN ON TO THE ICESCR
—SATU CADANGAN YANG DIKEMUKAKAN DENGAN RENDAH DIRI
By Edmund Bon, Member of HAKAM, and former Chairperson of the Bar Council’s Human Rights and Constitutional Law Committees
#HAKAM-MMO Human Rights Day 2015 project
Terbitan Istimewa HAKAM sempena sambutan Hari Hak Asasi Manusia 2015
#HAKAM-MMO Human Rights Day 2015 project
Karangan EDMUND BON TAI SOON
![UDHR_Photo_for_HR_Day_(1)[1]](http://hakam.org.my/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/UDHR_Photo_for_HR_Day_11.jpg)
Pada pandangan sesiapa pun baru-baru ini, negara kita seolah-olah sedang berkapai-kapai dari satu krisis ke krisis yang lain. Menurut sesetengah pihak, satu pemerintahan berunsur dictator sedang mengelubungi kita; bagi sesetengah pihak lain pula, hampir 50% daripada seluruh populasi ataupun dalam erti kata lain, keseluruhan agama dan bangsa kaum majoriti sedang diancam dan tidak dihormati setiap hari.
Berdasarkan latar belakang ini, jelas terdapat suatu elemen yang bertindak sebagai insentif yang cukup dari sudut hak-hak asasi untuk menyatupadukan kita semua. Semua pemimpin-pemimpin politik, pegawai kerajaan, dan rakyat yang bangga dengan pencapaian Malaysia dan komited untuk mencapai kemajuan yang lebih bermakna, dalam bidang kesihatan, pendidikan, serta hak-hak pekerja seharusnya menyokong langkah Malaysia untuk menandatangani ICESCR dengan serta-merta. Read more
Published in collaboration with MMO
>> Read original article in Bahasa Malaysia
BY EDMUND BON TAI SOON
OPINION, Dec 16 ― These days, to anyone who reads the news, our beloved country seems to be lurching from crisis to crisis.
According to some, a dictatorship is upon us; to others, the entire race and religion of the majority, i.e. approximately 50 per cent of the population, is under threat and being disrespected every day.
Against this background, there is something which may seem clear enough from a rights perspective to unite us.
All political leaders, government officials, and citizens who are proud of Malaysia’s achievements, and committed to making greater progress, in health, education, and worker rights, should support our immediate accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights or better known as the “ICESCR”. Read more
Terbitan Istimewa HAKAM sempena sambutan Hari Hak Asasi Manusia 2015
#HAKAM-MMO Human Rights Day 2015 project
Karangan ROBYN CHOI
“Kanak-kanak tidak perlu didengari, jika dilihat cukup”…. “Siapa memberi kamu kuasa untuk menjadi boss saya?”… “Jika dirumah saya dan dibawah jagaan saya, peraturan saya yang mesti diikuti”… “Tetapi saya mempunyai hak juga”…. “Sudah pasti ditampar oleh atuk dan nenek kamu jika saya biadap seperti mu”.
Kanak-kanak sering dianggap “insan kecil”. Adakah kita menganggap kanak-kanak sebagai seorang individu yang mempunyai hak asasi manusia yang sepenuhnya, tiada bezanya dengan insan dewasa?
Ya, seharusnya begitu.
Hak asasi manusia diberikan kepada semua insan, yang bererti kanak-kanak mempunyai hak asasi manusia yang sama seperti orang dewasa. Hak dan kebebasan asasi yang termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan kita berhak dinikmati oleh semua rakyat, dan ini termasuk kanak-kanak.
Kecuali, kanak-kanak menerima hak tambahan kerana mereka istimewa. Read more
EXCLUSIVE, published in collaboration with MMO
>> Read original article in Bahasa Malaysia
BY ROBYN CHOI
OPINION, Dec 15 ― “Children are meant to be seen, not heard”…”Who made you the boss of me?” …”Under my roof, it is only my rules”… “ But I have rights! “Your grandparents would have given me two tight slaps if I had a smart mouth like yours”.
A child is often seen as a “little human being”.
Do we regard a child as an individual with full human rights, no different to an adult human?
We should.
Human rights apply to everyone, which means children have the same human rights as adults. The fundamental rights and liberties enshrined in our Federal Constitution are accorded to all citizens, and that includes children.
Except that children get additional rights because they are special. Read more
Terbitan Istimewa HAKAM sempena sambutan Hari Hak Asasi Manusia 2015
#HAKAM-MMO Human Rights Day 2015 project
Karangan IVY JOSIAH
“Another Yin-Yang-Yuan Butterfly TransGender-Symbol” – By ParaDox, shared under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Germany license.
Kita mungkin pernah membaca berita ini sepintas lalu, tetapi fakta berikut wajar diulang semula – antara bulan Oktober 2014 hingga September 2015, 271 pembunuhan insan pelbagai transgender telah dilaporkan, satu statistik global yang diumumkan pada Hari Peringatan Transgender yang jatuh pada 20 November setiap tahun untuk memberi penghormatan dan memperingati nyawa yang terkorban dalam tindakan jenayah keganasan anti-transgender.
Para aktivitis Malaysia percaya bahawa insan transgender juga menjadi mangsa pembunuhan di negara ini tetapi pihak berkuasa tidak mengiktiraf identiti jantina insan yang terbunuh dan mengiktiraf pembunuhan sebagai jenayah kebencian. 1
Nyawa yang sengaja dikorbankan kerana anda ingin memilih jalan hidup sendiri pastinya tidak adil. Namun kita diyakinkan bahawa hak terhadap kehidupan, kebebasan dan keselamatan diri yang termaktub dalam Perkara 3 Deklarasi Hak Asasi Manusia Sejagat (UDHR) wajar dinikmati oleh SEMUA insan, bukan hanya mereka yang kita anggap layak menikmati hak ini. Sebelum Perkara 3, Perkara 1 UDHR mengisytiharkan bahawa “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” dan Perkara 2 UDHR menjanjikan bahawa “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”. Read more
