The rights group’s executive director, Sevan Doraisamy, said Putrajaya had little reason not to expedite reforms to several laws given that previous administrations had completed the groundwork to amend the legislation.

He said the government must prioritise abolishing the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) and the Sedition Act, as well as enact measures to prevent deaths in custody.

“Although we saw the abolition of the mandatory death penalty, it’s still a low-hanging fruit,” he said at the launch of Suaram’s Human Rights Report 2022 here today.

“You can’t beat the drums (of reform) using low-hanging fruits as there are so many other laws that we have been using since independence that need to be amended.”

Sevan said his expectations for human rights reforms under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was high given that the Pakatan Harapan chairman has been labelled the “father of reform”, adding that the PKR president was also a victim of detention without trial.

He said Anwar would be the “worst prime minister” if he failed to deliver on the reforms he promised.

He asked if Anwar had the political will and courage to look into amending the relevant laws to improve human rights in the country.

However, he said, Suaram would refrain from speculating on what was preventing the government from pushing through reforms.

He also said Putrajaya should engage with the relevant NGOs and civil society organisations to tap into these groups’ expertise.