Article 19 and Civicus said since it has also made public pledges to uphold human rights, the government has a unique opportunity to reverse the “violating actions” of its predecessors and shift to a new “respecting approach”.
“Legal and policy reform is pivotal to attain this and would demonstrate a genuine intention from the new government to meet its international human rights obligations,” they said in a joint statement.
The groups said that for Malaysia to fulfil its pledges to the human rights council, it must repeal or substantially revise all laws that unduly fetter the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
These laws include the Sedition Act 1948, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, the Societies Act 1966 and other legislation routinely used to silence dissent.
They said wholesale reform of these laws was required to ensure that the right to freedom of expression can be exercised without fear.
Article 19 and Civicus also said they were concerned that domestic accountability mechanisms had been weakened, and that while the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) had retained its “A” status as a national institution, its yearly reports had been largely ignored by the government.
They said meaningful engagements with Suhakam and viewing it as a key partner in upholding human rights would be a crucial requirement for Malaysia to be a member of the UN council.
The group added that there was a need for more inclusive and non-discriminatory policies in place against the LGBTQI communities, refugees, migrants and religious minorities in Malaysia.
The groups also said police reform should be prioritised alongside legal reform, as the arbitrary implementation of rights-respecting laws could still lead to human rights violations.
“Article 19 and Civicus have recorded dozens of incidents of harassment and intimidation by police against activists, human rights defenders and ordinary citizens because of the exercise of their right to freedom of expression.
“The new government must reform the police and establish a dedicated Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) with a mandate to receive and investigate complaints about police misconduct and abuse,” they said.
They also said the government’s cooperation with mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council had been incredibly poor, adding that it had failed to submit its midterm report for the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review.
They urged the new administration to speed up the process of ratification to illustrate its commitment to human rights.