Federal Court has declared doctrine does not exist in constitution, says Govt

KUALA LUMPUR: The doctrine of separation of powers has no legal basis in Malaysia, the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva has been told.

The Government said this in response to the report by the United Nation’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to the HRC Monday night.

As proof, it cited the controversial decision in re Kok Wah Kuan (the juvenile convicted of murdering his teacher’s daughter) where the Federal Court held that the Federal Constitution “does not have the features of separation of powers”; contained features which “do not strictly comply” with the doctrine; and it was just “political doctrine.”

It was responding to the view that Malaysia did not have a fully independent Judiciary because the amendment to Article 121(1) of the Constitution had wrested the judicial power of the courts, taking away its equal footing with the Executive and the Legislature.

The Suhakam-endorsed report is based on the visit of a fact-finding mission from June 7- June 17, which had included visits to detention facilities and private interviews of detainees.

The Government thanked the four-member group it had invited here, saying it had benefited from the constructive engagement.

Malaysia said the visit had brought to light “certain institutional and implementation gaps,” and it was committed to improving the promotion and protection of human rights.

However, on the recommendation that the Internal Security Act, Emergency (Public Order and Preven­tion of Crime) Ordinance, Dangerous Drugs (Special Preven­tive Measures) Act and Restricted Residence Act be repealed or amended to conform with the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Government argued that they were enacted to shield public interest, peace and national security and had safeguards to ensure compliance with the rule of law.

It stressed that actions taken under them “were not considered punishment” as the detainee was not registered as an offender.

Their purpose is prevention and rehabilitation, it stressed.

It denied that the Home Minister had excessive powers, citing the safeguards on paper – maximum two-year term, habeas corpus, representation to Advisory Board and legal representation – as proof.

The Government took “strong exception” to the view that “the office of the Attorney-General eludes the normal penal procedure for common crimes and offences.”

On Tuesday, The Star had reported the group’s statement to the HRC, in which it reported finding others at centres reserved for detainees, those who should have been charged with common offences and dealt with under the regular penal procedure.

The Government’s citing of Section 8 of the ISA which allows the Minister to order detentions without trial for up to two years “if he is justified it is necessary” as a safeguard was intriguing, considering former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed’s revelation on Feb 17 that since the police advised him on national security, “if the police said arrest, I just signed-lah.”

It said it placed high importance to rights of detainees and listed 11 safeguards to protect those rights.

With regard to allegations of the unprofessional conduct of Rela members, the Government asked complainants to lodge a police report so there could be an investigation.

It added that Rela members had no opportunity to abuse detainees as they are now only tasked with the security and safety of the external premises of immigration detention centres.

As for the finding that almost all detainees under preventive laws interviewed had said police tortured them to obtain confessions or evidence, the Government replied it did not condone any act of torture or degrading treatment.

It added that between 2008 and 2010, nine police officers had been prosecuted for abuse of power and excessive use of force in interrogation.

On conditions at detention centres and prisons, the Government said there were sufficient laws in place to ensure humane conditions at immigration detention centres.

It said RM100mil had been allocated for improvements, and that it was studying the best practices of Australia and Holland.

Prison overcrowding was also addressed with improvement to rehabilitation programmes and reducing recidivism, it said, adding that it was working towards having foreign prisoners do parole or serve their sentences in their country of origin.

With regard to the high number of deaths in custody, the Government said the current measures were adequate to address such cases.

Taking “strong exception” to the view it did nothing to facilitate access to the UNHCR office here, Malaysia insisted it did so “consistently on the basis of humanitarian ground”, although it was not a party to treaties on refugees.

Refugees Cancelled Their Departure

MALAYSIA :: The US department of homeland security is hurling out so many conflicting messages on refugees who take refuge in Malaysia and Thailand that they (DHS) doubly require for further security review, although many of whose departures have been confirmed in Malaysia.

There is more that it needs to be learning the sole cause of this departure cancel wave as its order came directly from Washington that the officers in IRC (International Rescue Committee) and IOM (International Organization of Migrants) department even don't know it and cannot effectively explain about it why and what happens towards the distressed refugees.

Since weeks ago, it has been started speculating about the cancellation of dozens of departures in Malaysia. A few weeks in the past they (IOM dept) could inform those concerned on time, said one of the staffs in IOM. However, there is such never incident happened like last Monday (7th) that some of those who had been boarded on the bus for traveling to the airport from UNHCR office were immediately called off their departure, which was because of information sent late by Washington, elucidated the officer in IOM department in UNHCR office.

According to the confirmed source from IRC department in UNHCR, it reveals that 750 refugees from Malaysia—those already confirmed for their departures are being canceled in order for security reason to review once again but it is unable to know how long it will take back to the normal condition. Also, 850 refugees from Thailand are facing the same problem with the unimaginable uncertainty.

All of those face departure cancel are of Myanmar refugees, source said.
On last Monday cancellation, one of the victims among dozens of whose departures canceled said to VOCR that 12 cases of their batch were, though 15 cases escaped from this havoc, told about their departure cancellation after being boarded on the bus and returning to the office of UNHCR as to heed an explanation by the related department. It was such a terrible. "We got shocked and extremely fearful for all of us" continued him, "A moment later, one of the high-ranked officers from IRC came to us and telling us that it is not the thing they did (here in Malaysia) and is beyond their ability to do so but just a clear order from Washington for furthering security review again".

Some of the victims those with family members will surely have a big challenging problem for living as the fact that their apartment had been reverted to the owner and belongings sold to friends. Mr. Henry Sui Hmung said "For me, I no choice have to rely on my friends for the time being". It was also learnt that none of any financial aid for transportation wasn't made out for them despite there was a demand from the victims.

A credible or fair thing from the respective office should be done. Nonetheless, IOM department only provided the phone for them in attempts to call friends or relatives to take them home from the office. It sounds a very big issue for every single of refugee in Malaysia. By Simon

Amnesty tells Malaysia to stop torturing foreigners

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia has been asked by a top human rights watchdog to halt the "torture and other ill-treatment" to thousands of refugees and migrants as the government disclosed that almost 30,000 foreigners had been caned in the last five years.

"The government's figures confirm that Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people to torture and other ill-treatment each year," Asia Pacific director at Amnesty International Sam Zarifi said.

He said this practice was absolutely prohibited under international law irrespective of the circumstances.

"As a first step, the Malaysian government has to immediately declare a moratorium on this brutal practice," Zarifi said.

The human rights group was outraged after the country's Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein made a statement to the Parliament last week that 29,759 foreigners had been caned between 2005 and 2010 for immigration offences alone.

The human rights group also called for a complete abolition of all forms or corporal punishment, which constitutes torture or other ill-treatment, Zarifi said.

In December 2010, Amnesty published an in-depth investigation into judicial caning in Malaysia.

In each of the 57 cases it examined, Amnesty found that the caning amounted to torture, as the authorities had intentionally inflicted severe pain and suffering through the punishment of caning, he said.

At least 60 per cent of the 29,759 foreigners caned were Indonesians, according to Liew Chin Tong, the parliamentarian who submitted the question to Parliament.

Malaysia hit news headlines last year over its decision to cane a Muslim woman who was charged with drinking beer in public.

The woman, a model, was later made to do community work after the case got wide publicity in the international press.

Call for Malaysia to stop caning refugees

AMNESTY International has called on Malaysia to halt the use of caning after it was revealed 30,000 migrants and refugees, including asylum seekers headed to Australia, have been subject to the punishment in the past five years. 

While most countries have abolished judicial caning, Malaysia has expanded the practice with the number of offences covered by the punishment having been expanded to more than 60.

Amnesty International's Asia Pacific director, Sam Zarifi, said the practice of caning amounted to torture and was absolutely prohibited under international law, and should be stopped immediately.

The latest figures were revealed earlier this week by Malaysia's Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, who in response to a parliamentary question said 29,759 foreigners had been caned between 2005 and 2010 for immigration offences alone.

"The government's figures confirm that Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people to torture and other ill-treatment each year," Mr Zarifi said.

"As a first step, the Malaysian government has to immediately declare a moratorium on this brutal practice."

He said the findings of an Amnesty investigation into 57 cases of judicial caning in Malaysia, published in December, found the punishment could be classified as torture as authorities had intentionally inflicted severe pain and suffering.

The human rights organisation said tens of thousands of refugees and migrant workers had been caned since 2002, when Malaysia amended the Immigration Act to make immigration violations such as illegal entry subject to the punishment.

Those subject to judicial caning include asylum seekers caught transiting through Malaysia, many of whom are often on their way to Australia.

In October last year, Australia provided Malaysia with $1 million worth of equipment, including patrol boats, to help combat people smuggling.

Amnesty's national refugee coordinator for Australia, Graham Thom, said Canberra must share some of the responsibility for the treatment of asylum seekers detained in Malaysia.

"There's a real chance, in the view of Amnesty International, that they will find their way into the Malaysian judicial system and could be subject to caning," Dr Thom said.

"We think there is a moral obligation on the Australian government to ensure these asylum seekers are not being subject to what amounts to torture."

Malaysian MP Liew Chin Tong, who sought the figures in parliament on Wednesday, said at least 60 per cent of the 29,759 foreigners caned in the past five years were Indonesians.

Mr Zarifi said Indonesia should use its position as the current chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations to apply pressure on Malaysia to cease the use of caning as a form of punishment. 

29,759 migrants 'caned' in Malaysia between 2005-2010 (9/3/2011)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

11 March 2011

Malaysia: Government Reveals Nearly 30,000 Foreigners Caned

Malaysia should immediately halt the judicial caning of refugees and migrants, Amnesty International said after the government disclosed that almost 30,000 foreigners had been caned in five years.

In a response to a parliamentary question on 9 March, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein disclosed that Malaysia had caned 29,759 foreigners between 2005 and 2010 for immigration offences alone.

 “The government’s figures confirm that Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people to torture and other ill-treatment each year,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia Pacific director at Amnesty International. “This is a practice which is absolutely prohibited under international law, no matter what the circumstances.”

“As a first step, the Malaysian government has to immediately declare a moratorium on this brutal practice.”

Amnesty International also called for a complete abolition of all forms or corporal punishment, which constitutes torture or other ill-treatment.

In December 2010, Amnesty International published an in-depth investigation into judicial caning in Malaysia. In each of the 57 cases it examined, Amnesty International found that the caning amounted to torture, as the authorities had intentionally inflicted severe pain and suffering through the punishment of caning.

While most countries have abolished judicial caning, Malaysia has expanded the practice. Parliament has increased the number of offenses subject to caning to more than 60.

Since 2002, when Parliament amended the Immigration Act 1959/63 to make immigration violations such as illegal entry subject to caning, tens of thousands of refugees and migrant workers have been caned.

At least 60 per cent of the 29,759 foreigners caned were Indonesians, according to Liew Chin Tong, the parliamentarian who submitted the question. In March 2010, Amnesty International documented how unchecked abuses by unscrupulous labour agents led to many migrant workers losing their legal immigration status and thus being subject to caning.

Refugees are also caned for immigration violations in Malaysia. Since Malaysia has not yet ratified the UN Refugee Convention, asylum seekers are often arrested and prosecuted as illegal migrants. Burmese refugees in Malaysia have told Amnesty International how they live in fear after being caned.

“Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people from other Asian countries to torture and other ill-treatment,” said Sam Zarifi. “Indonesia, which chairs the Association of South East Asian Nations and its human rights Commission this year, must press Malaysia to stop caning their citizens.”

Call for Malaysia to stop caning refugees

By News.Com.Au 

AMNESTY International has called on Malaysia to halt the use of caning after it was revealed 30,000 migrants and refugees, including asylum seekers headed to Australia, have been subject to the punishment in the past five years. 

While most countries have abolished judicial caning, Malaysia has expanded the practice with the number of offences covered by the punishment having been expanded to more than 60.

Amnesty International's Asia Pacific director, Sam Zarifi, said the practice of caning amounted to torture and was absolutely prohibited under international law, and should be stopped immediately.

The latest figures were revealed earlier this week by Malaysia's Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, who in response to a parliamentary question said 29,759 foreigners had been caned between 2005 and 2010 for immigration offences alone.

"The government's figures confirm that Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people to torture and other ill-treatment each year," Mr Zarifi said.

"As a first step, the Malaysian government has to immediately declare a moratorium on this brutal practice."

He said the findings of an Amnesty investigation into 57 cases of judicial caning in Malaysia, published in December, found the punishment could be classified as torture as authorities had intentionally inflicted severe pain and suffering.

The human rights organisation said tens of thousands of refugees and migrant workers had been caned since 2002, when Malaysia amended the Immigration Act to make immigration violations such as illegal entry subject to the punishment.

Those subject to judicial caning include asylum seekers caught transiting through Malaysia, many of whom are often on their way to Australia.

In October last year, Australia provided Malaysia with $1 million worth of equipment, including patrol boats, to help combat people smuggling.

Amnesty's national refugee coordinator for Australia, Graham Thom, said Canberra must share some of the responsibility for the treatment of asylum seekers detained in Malaysia.

International Women’s Day: A Stateless Woman’s Story

On International Women’s Day we celebrate women’s achievements and we push for further progress towards real equality. But a large group of women around the world are being shut out of enjoying any progress – women who have no citizenship of any country. Their statelessness means that no government protects their rights.

In Malaysia last week I met with Gultaz, who was 9 months pregnant and very scared. Her story illustrates the type of problems that many stateless women around the world face, forced to hide themselves away and unable to advance in their lives.

Gultaz is a Rohingya – a Muslim ethnic minority group from western Burma – and she is both stateless and a refugee. The Rohingya have no rights in Burma and their lives are made impossible by such practices as forced labor, displacement and systematic physical assault and rape. They are not allowed to marry or travel to other villages unless they pay prohibitively high taxes. The Burmese authorities stripped the Rohingya of their Burmese citizenship in 1982, arguing that they are Bangladeshi. But the Bangladeshi government also does not accept the Rohingya as their citizens. So the Rohingya community is stateless, with no government that accepts them.

Gultaz, her family and neighbors were displaced from their village near the archaeological ruins or Mrauk-U in Arakan State. The military wanted to develop the site for tourism and forcibly relocated them with no compensation. The Burmese authorities used brutal force to require Gultaz’s husband to work for them for no pay. They beat him in the face, and he has had two eye operations to try to repair the damage he suffered. He fled without being able to inform Gultaz of where he was going, so she was left alone struggling to look after their young son and suffering persecution from the Burmese authorities.

Eventually, Gultaz learned that her husband had made his way to Malaysia. She could no longer ensure the survival of her son in Burma and she decided that she had no option but to travel illegally, with her 12 year-old son, to Bangladesh, where they took a boat to Thailand. Then they made their way to the border between Thailand and Malaysia. Gultaz and her son were arrested there for illegal entry into Thailand, and they were held in a Thai detention center for more than three months. The conditions in the detention center were appalling for her and her child. When they got out of the detention center they managed to cross the border into Malaysia and she and her son were reunited with her husband.

Gultaz was relieved to get to Malaysia, where the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is permitted to assist the Rohingya. UNHCR registered her and her son as refugees in Malaysia, because they had a well-founded fear of persecution in Burma, and they were given official UN refugee cards. But, despite allowing UNHCR to register refugees there, Malaysia has not signed the international convention on refugees, and it still arrests foreigners who enter the country illegally, even if they are refugees or stateless.

Three years after arriving in Malaysia, when Gultaz was five months pregnant with her second child, she and her husband were both arrested by immigration authorities and were held in detention. Gultaz said that it was terrible being pregnant in the Malaysian detention center, with inadequate food and unclean water, and she had difficulty getting medical attention. After two months, UNHCR secured the release of Gultaz from the detention center. Over the past two years Malaysia has reduced arrests of refugees registered with UNHCR, but Gultaz’s experiences make her too scared to go out.

Gultaz struggles to survive economically, as her husband is still ill, but her fear of going out prevents her from taking up possible opportunities. She was offered a loan under a micro-credit scheme, but she refused as she was worried she would not be able to repay it. She pointed out that since she does not have the right to work in Malaysia she fears she could be arrested again while trying to sell any products she would make. And she does not want to default on a loan.

When I asked Gultaz what she hoped for the future, she told me that her life was over (although she is only 37) and all she thinks of is her children’s future. Her older child never went to school. She hopes that her 3 year-old daughter will be allowed to go to government schools so that she will have a future.

On International Women’s Day we must not forget that there are millions of stateless women around the world like Gultaz, and we should push governments to recognize their rights.

Malaysian government reveals nearly 30,000 foreigners caned

Malaysia caned 29,759 foreigners from 2005 to 2010 for immigration offences alone

© Amnesty International

10 March 2011

Malaysia should immediately halt the judicial caning of refugees and migrants, Amnesty International said after the government disclosed that almost 30,000 foreigners had been caned in five years.

In a response to a parliamentary question on 9 March, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein disclosed that Malaysia had caned 29,759 foreigners between 2005 and 2010 for immigration offences alone.

 “The government’s figures confirm that Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people to torture and other ill-treatment each year,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia Pacific director at Amnesty International.

“This is a practice which is absolutely prohibited under international law, no matter what the circumstances.

“As a first step, the Malaysian government has to immediately declare a moratorium on this brutal practice.”

Amnesty International also called for a complete abolition of all forms or corporal punishment, which constitutes torture or other ill-treatment.

In December 2010, Amnesty International published an in-depth investigation into judicial caning in Malaysia. In each of the 57 cases it examined, Amnesty International found that the caning amounted to torture, as the authorities had intentionally inflicted severe pain and suffering through the punishment of caning. 

While most countries have abolished judicial caning, Malaysia has expanded the practice. Parliament has increased the number of offenses subject to caning to more than 60.

Since 2002, when Parliament amended the Immigration Act 1959/63 to make immigration violations such as illegal entry subject to caning, tens of thousands of refugees and migrant workers have been caned.

At least 60 percent  of the 29,759 foreigners caned were Indonesians, according to Liew Chin Tong, the parliamentarian who submitted the question. In March 2010, Amnesty International documented how unchecked abuses by unscrupulous labour agents led to many migrant workers losing their legal immigration status and thus being subject to caning.

Refugees are also caned for immigration violations in Malaysia. Since Malaysia has not yet ratified the UN Refugee Convention, asylum seekers are often arrested and prosecuted as illegal migrants. Burmese refugees in Malaysia have told Amnesty International how they live in fear after being caned.

“Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people from other Asian countries to torture and other ill-treatment,” said Zarifi. “Indonesia, which chairs the Association of South East Asian Nations and its human rights Commission this year, must press Malaysia to stop caning their citizens.”

Read More

Malaysia: Torture practiced systematically in widespread caning (Report, 6 December 2010)
Abused and Abandoned: Refugees Denied Rights in Malaysia (Report, 15 June 2010)
Trapped: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia (Report, 24 March 2010)

 

Compensation sought for evacuees from Arab world

(IANS) An inter-governmental legal body has called for compensation for thousands of foreign workers, including Indians, who have lost their jobs and are being evacuated from strife-torn West Asia and North Africa.

The 47-member Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO), which is headquartered here, has urged the international community to consider compensating them.

"Merely evacuating them and sending them home is not enough. Most of them have paid heavily to recruiting agencies and touts to get those jobs. To return home with their pockets empty would mean prolonged misery for their families," Rahmat Mohamad, secretary general of AALCO, which promotes progressive development of the international law, told IANS.

The current turmoil "is spreading and is going to be there for some time. It will cover thousands more migrant workers who need help", said Mohamad, a Malaysian law teacher who has been at its helm for three years.

"Some countries are preparing to attack Libya and looking at 'No Fly Zone' and some are asking Muammar Gaddafi (Libyan leader) not to use force on his people. But equally important, if not more, is the fate of migrant workers," he said.

"People from one country go to another to work. Evacuated to a third country, they are refugees. What kind of aid is being given to them?"

He cited the multiple tragedies that befell Bangladeshi workers who were evacuated from Libya last Sunday. Scores of workers had tried to flee a rescue ship docked at the Greek island of Crete in an apparent bid to avoid being sent back home. Three of them drowned and some are still missing.

While there is a crisis on, even during normal times, the world community is very slow in reacting to problems of migrant workers, he noted. "What sort of reparation or compensation is being given to them?"

Mohamad said the AALCO will write on this issue to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), the International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) and other relevant bodies.

Based on their response, he said it will take up the initiative at a conference planned here next month.

Many countries do not have laws for migrant workers. Laws that could be applied both domestically and internationally are urgently needed, he said.

Mohamad said India had mooted an Asia-Africa initiative last November and mutual legal aid had been mooted for Asian and African nations at another conference held last year in Malaysia.

To keep pace with new challenges, AALCO had taken up issues like international terrorism, cyber crime, both of which had been on the rise and needed consultations among the nations to deal with the legal aspects.

The case of piracy on the high seas was different in that there are laws that are not effectively applied. Many countries did not comprehend it beyond law and order issue.

He cited the example of Malaysia, situated on the threshold of several straits through which international navigation is conducted and is at times victim of piracy.

Mohamad said his country had the law to deal with domestic pirates, but is for the first time confronted with is ships being hijacked by pirates off Somalia in the Arabian Sea. Seven Somali pirates are now in Malaysian jail awaiting trial.

"Many states do not have legislation on piracy, or have outdated legislation which does not allow them to take full advantage afforded to them under international law, in particular, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," he told IANS in an interview.

Rahmat Mohamad's essays on these and related subjects compiled in a book are to be released Friday by visiting Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

UN says Burma ‘a regional burden’

By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 25 February 2011

Increasing numbers of Burmese asylum-seekers in Southeast Asian states is evidence that Burma’s domestic crises are having a negative impact on the region, a top UN official has said.

Tomas Ojeas Quintana, the UN’s special rapporteur to Burma, made the remarks after a visit to Malaysia, which has become home to some 84,800 registered refugees and asylum-seekers. He spoke of “an extra-territorial dimension to the human rights problem in Myanmar [Burma]” as more and more people leave the country in search of better livelihoods.

“Countries in the region have a particular interest in persuading the Government of Myanmar to take necessary measures for the improvement of its human rights situation,” he stressed.

The comments will likely attract the attention of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, which has to date kept out of Burmese domestic affairs as part of its cornerstone non-interference policy. How much further it will go to maintain that is debatable, as heavy fighting in Burma’s border regions combines with rampant state-sanctioned human rights abuses to fuel a heavy spill-over into neighbouring countries.

Thailand is already home to nine camps housing nearly 150,000 refugees from Burma, and has been heavily criticised in recent months as it seeks to contain increasing numbers by encouraging many to return, despite stability across the border remaining highly questionable. But with Thailand reliant on Burma for some 30 percent of its energy needs, it has stopped short of any substantial criticism of the regime.

Indeed alongside the 84,000-odd registered Burmese in Malaysia are hundreds of thousands of additional migrants from Burma who remain unregistered and, facing the perennial threat of deportation, live in a constant state of limbo. Similarly, in Bangladesh, of the nearly 400,000 refugees from Burma’s Muslim Rohingya community that have fled persecution in Arakan state, only 22,000 are registered by the UN’s refugee agency, and their burden on the country’s already stretched resources is evident.

Quintana’s comments come amid a resurgence of the debate over whether Western nations should maintain sanctions on Burma that are aimed at pressuring the regime into improving its human rights record. It follows a study by the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in which they claimed the embargo wasn’t hurting Burmese civilians.

Tan Sri Razali Ismail, a former UN special envoy to Burma, yesterday however called for the lifting of sanctions, saying that Burma “has to begin to prosper” and blaming the country’s pathetic agricultural output on the West’s blockade.

“They are now importing rice, which is ridiculous,” he told the Second Asian Mediation Association conference held in Malaysia this week, adding that he disagreed with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who “insisted on sanctions”.

The Malaysian national, who has in the past represented Kuala Lumpur in ASEAN, said however that Southeast Asia should have an independent mediation unit to handle regional crises, something that critics of the bloc have long called for.

Regional stability and Burma’s human rights situation

(Mizzima) - The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, said last week that Burma’s lack of human rights is placing a heavy burden on regional neighbours who must deal with refugees.

UN special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana, right, held talks with Tin Oo, center, and six other senior leaders of the opposition party, the National League for Democracy, in Rangoon last year. (Photo: UN)

Speaking from Malaysia, Quintana told that despite the Burmese government’s  promises to improve its record on human rights abuses, the situation in the country is still grave.

Southeast Asian countries that play host to Burmese refugees have an interest in encouraging the military government to improve its human rights situation, he said.

In March, Quintana submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council stating that Burma’s government exercised a  pattern of “gross and systematic” human rights abuses that indicate they have become state policy. The report led to calls to create a UN commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate alleged war crimes and human rights violations in Burma.

So far, several international governments have come out in support of a CoI, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. So far, no country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has spoken in favour of a CoI.

Aung Myo Min, the director of the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) based in Thailand, told Mizzima, ‘The situation of refugees is no longer solely a matter of internal affairs, but an international one that concerns the entire region.’

He said Asean countries should support a CoI because it is in their interests ‘to have a peaceful and healthy Asean region’, and a CoI is ‘a way to solve the root cause of the refugee influx.’

Thailand had suffered the greatest burden of Burmese refugees, but  there is also a growing number of Burmese who are seeking refuge in Malaysia and Indonesia, he said.

Aung Myo Min said Asean’s recent initiative in the Thailand-Cambodia border dispute, sets a good example.

‘They [Asean] should take a more active role in approaching the problem of refugees which reflects the situation of human rights abuses in Burma,’ he said.

Refugees from Burma Warned of HIV Risks in Malaysia

 

01 March 2011: A grave concern has been raised among refugee communities in Malaysia as an increasing number of people from Burma have been tested HIV-positive.
More than 400 refugees from Burma were estimated to be HIV-infected, of which about 200 were Chin, according to Malaysian Health Care source as quoted by Kuala Lumpur-based Seihnam newsletter late last year.

During an interview about Chin refugees in Malaysia, Chin Refugee Committee (CRC), a community-based volunteer organisation, stressed that the number of HIV-infected refugees is sadly on the increase although the exact number is not known.

"In attempts to respond to this issue, CRC finally puts up efforts in making a shelter for HIV patients, and raises fund for HIV shelters on donation basis. Awareness for HIV patients was also made through HIV Live Aid Concert in 2010," added CRC Coordinator.

The Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR), comprised of 17 Chin communities, said health seminars are conducted to educate refugees and to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and other common diseases that effect the refugee community.

Staff members from the UN sometimes come and teach our chidlren, mostly under the age of 16, about health education including HIV/AIDS awareness, said Chairman of Chin Student Organisation (CSO) in Malaysia. 

The actual population of HIV-infected refugees from Burma in Malaysia could be much higher than we have known so far as there are still many refugees without the UNHCR registration cards or legal documents who do not happen in this case to get checked up, according to one of the Chin community leaders in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Some allegedly ascribe the 'undisciplined alcoholic drinking' practices of Chin refugee men and its negative consequences to the main possible triggers behind the surge in HIV-infected numbers while others relate to a complete lack of knowledge and education on the disease since they were in Chin State, one of the least developed States in Burma.

"Most of the problems including anti-social behaviour, theft, physical assaults, alcohol-related and family issues are committed by those from rural villages in remote parts of Chin State. In Burma, they didn't go to school and didn't have education. Hence, they lack in common sense and understanding," admitted Chairman of Chin Disciplinary Action Committee (CDAC), a community-based body tasked with tackling domestic issues that cause problems to the Chin community in Malaysia.

A report by UNFPA (United Nations Populationo Fund) Myanmar last year said the estimated number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) between 15 to 49 years of age is 230,000 in 2009, of which 35 percent were female.

More than an estimated 45,000 Chin refugees from Burma are currently stranded in Malaysia after fleeing brutalities and various forms of repressions by the military dictatorship in their native places along the Indian-Burma border.

Malaysia urged to let refugees work to meet dearth

By Eileen Ng

Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysia's government has relaxed a freeze on the recruitment of foreign workers in the services sector, with plans to bring in 45,000 Indians to meet a labor shortage that is undermining businesses, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday.

However, rights activists urged the government to allow more than 90,000 refugees in the country to work instead of importing more foreign workers.

Malaysia relies heavily on foreigners mainly from other Asian nations such as Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar for low-paying menial tasks shunned by locals. It is one of Southeast Asia's top labor markets, with foreigners making up some 2 million of its work force of 12 million. Hundreds of thousands more work illegally in the country.

Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam said the government banned the intake of foreign workers in the services sector last year mainly to weed out illegal foreigners in the country. But the process is taking too long and the freeze is hurting businesses, especially restaurants that rely heavily on foreign workers, he said.

"We don't want newcomers to come until the problem of illegals is sorted out, but that sorting out process is taking too long. Industries are having a lot of issues on the ground, some are on the verge of closing," he said.

"There must be some relaxation of rules ... so now for industries that are critically affected, the government is giving approval on individual merits. Last month, the Cabinet approved the recruitment of 45,000 foreign workers" to meet demand in 13 business sectors in the service industry, he said.

The 45,000 laborers will come mainly from India following a request from ethnic Indian businessmen who initially asked for 90,000 foreign workers to fill up vacancies for restaurant workers, barbers and newspaper vendors, he added.

Local rights groups Suaram, however, said the government was not wisely utilizing existing human resources, particularly 92,900 refugees registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

"Most of the said 13 business sectors facing manpower shortage are in the small-scale business and can be filled by refugees," it said. "The ministry should give them opportunity and allow them to work instead of bringing in more foreign workers."

Subramaniam said a Cabinet committee will meet mid-March to discuss how best to tackle the country's reliance on foreign workers.

"We have told industries to make it more lucrative to attract more locals to work and at the same time, redesign their businesses so that they are less dependent on foreign workers," he said.

Malaysia's Cheap Labour Crisis

Malaysia's reliance on cheap foreign labour is reaching a quiet crisis point.

Foreign workers comprise about two million of Malaysia's population of 28 million, with nationals from Indonesia, Bangladesh and increasingly Cambodia and Burma taking up the low paid, menial tasks that Malaysians usually don’t want to do. Many more work illegally in the country. But as these cheap sources of labour are drying up or becoming increasingly difficult to source, changes are occurring to Malaysia's tense social make-up.

Since Indonesia banned its nationals from undertaking new domestic jobs in Malaysia in 2009 following horrendous reports of abuse at the hands of Malaysian employers, middle class Malaysians have been getting desperate. As of February, some 35,000 families were on the waiting list for domestic helpers; increasing numbers of Malaysians are turning to Cambodia for their maids.

For families like the Ngs, having an Indonesian maid means more than just the luxury of returning to a spotless house, a freshly pressed and laundered wardrobe and home dinner cooked in a style to which they are accustomed.

For the past 15 years Mr Ng, the family patriarch, has suffered from a debilitating disease that has left him unable to move and reliant on the help of Aci, the family's Indonesian maid, while his wife supports the family on her single income. 'We can't afford to have a nurse, and we rely on Aci to keep the house running while I'm out at work. We're grateful for the help.'

So strong is the demand for foreign workers that Malaysian men in financial difficulty have been known to hire themselves out for marriage to women (the majority of whom are from China) who can then extend their visas to stay and work in the country. Whether or not this work is in the sex industry is unclear.

This week, the Malaysian government relaxed a freeze on foreign workers in the services sector, and will allow 45,000 Indian nationals in to meet the ongoing labour shortage. But it has since announced that the decision is still under discussion.

Foreign workers are approved to work in specific sectors according to their nationality by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority. From exclusive gated communities that employ Kashmiris as security to the Chinese-Burmese in the kopitiams (coffeehouses that serve as communal eating and meeting points), the influx of foreign workers is changing the way Malaysians see their country. 'I never know what language to speak to service people', complains one local. 'Now I start off in Mandarin and switch to Malay if I get a blank look.'

But the debate over letting in much-demanded foreign workers and allowing refugees into the country is ongoing. Around 80,000 refugees live in camps outside the major cities, waiting to be moved on to other countries, including Australia. More and more Burmese are entering the country, usually smuggled through the Thai border. 

One thing remains certain. As long as Malaysians shun menial labour and face a deficit in foreign workers, the services, hospitality, retail and manufacturing industries will suffer. And so too will Malaysia's long-term productivity.

Catherine Chan is an environmental lawyer and journalist based in Beijing.

Frustration Against Forced Celebration of ‘Chin State Day’

Chin people expressed their deep disappointment that the military authorities inside Chin State had ordered the local organising committee to put up a banner of ‘Chin State Day’ in their recent national day celerbations.

This year’s historical commemoration that marked its 63rd anniversary on 20 February was held in cities and towns across Chin State, with ceremonial banners reading in Burmese ‘Chin State Day’ against the wills and wishes of the people.

In Seoul, Republic of Korea, a group of activists  of Chin and other ethnic nationalities from Burma protested in front of the Burmese Embassy on 20 February 2011, calling for an end to forcibly changing ‘Chin National Day’ to ‘Chin State Day’.

In their statement, Chin Democracy and Human Rights Network stressed the significance of Chin National Day to the Chin people as an ethnic nationality that has unique culture, custom and identity.

Some local organising committee members of Chin National Day celebration inside Chin State said they had no choice but to follow the orders as and if they wanted to have an official celebration in towns.

Salai Ceu Bik Thawng, General Secretary of Chin National Party (CNP), said: “We clearly state in our manifesto that the new Parliament and Government should have a proper consideration and discussion over this issue. We will keep on working hard in the interest of our people.”

“This event was performed under the supervision of the government, not the will of the people who live in Hakha,” one of the web users identified as TN said in reply to some outrageous disappointments expressed by individuals when seeing the photos of celebration in Hakha Town.

Meanwhile, celebrations with banners reading ‘Chin National Day’ were organised by Chin Literature and Culture Committee from Chin Universities Students in Kalay Myo, Mandalay and Rangoon.

“We knew that an official permission, if submitted before the celebration, would not be issued to us. So, we tried to find our own ways of organising it even though we were aware of risks and possible consequences. But we managed to hold our national day celebrations successfully and peacefully,” one of the organisation committee members in Rangoon told Chinland Guardian.

Outside the military-ruled Burma, Chin communities worldwide freely celebrated the Chin National Day in their residing cities and towns across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific regions, with a variety of cultural performances, foods and other activities including football and Chin traditional wrestling.

In his message on Chin National Day celebration, Dr. Za Hlei Thang (MP) once said a conference attended by representatives from all over the region was held in Falam and then on the 20th February 1948 in accordance with the people’s wishes, they decided to choose a democratic administrative system rather than primitive feudal administrative system, adding: “Hence the 20th of February became the National day for the chin people. From that time, we became united, understood each other and recognized the importance of the chin nation.”

Chin Refugees Get Surprise Visit from UN Rights Expert

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma Tomas Quintana made an unannounced trip to Malaysia last week, meeting with Chin community-based organizations and hearing personal stories of human rights abuses from individual refugees.

The visit to Malaysia came ahead of Quintana’s upcoming report to the Human Rights Council in March, where the UN rights expert is likely to raise human rights issues specific to the Chins. The visit coincided with the celebration of the 63rd anniversary of Chin National Day that saw the largest festive gathering of ethnic Chins outside of Chin State.

The Argentinian lawyer spent four days in the Malaysian capital, including a two-day meeting with refugees and community-based organizations. He also met with the Malaysian Foreign Ministry as part of his ongoing mandate to address the human rights situation in Burma.

“During my visit I talked to many people who had recently left Myanmar [Burma] fleeing forced labor, land and property confiscation, arbitrary taxation, religious and ethnic discrimination, arbitrary detention, as well as sexual and gender-based violence,” Quintana said.

The rights expert interviewed a dozen individual Chin refugees whose testimonies added further evidence to the long list of ongoing persecution and widespread human rights abuses against ethnic Chins in western Burma. Among the testimonies was the case of a young man who fled the country after 15 years of portering and forced labor for the military. Another prominent Chin woman religious leader testified about the systematic denial of religious freedom for Chin Christians, including one particular incident in which she was forced to read a statement at a televised event denying allegations of restrictions on freedom of religion, against her will.

“We are very pleased that the Special Rapporteur took notice of the situation of the Chins, and made a special effort to visit the Chin community in Malaysia. We hope that the Chin will be the focus of his next report to the UN Human Rights Council,” said Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), who also met with the Special Rapporteur during his visit to Malaysia last week.

In January the CHRO participated in a lobby mission to Geneva during  the Universal Periodic Review, where Burma’s rights record for the past four years was examined by the UN Human Rights Council. During the visit to Geneva, CHRO also met with officials at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the various Special Procedues mandate holders, including staff working with Tomas Quintana.

Burma’s Problems Transcend National Borders

At the end of his eight-day visit to Malaysia the UN rights expert concluded: “There is clearly an extra-territorial dimension to the human rights problem in Myanmar [Burma]. Despite the promise of the transition in Myanmar [Burma], the human rights situation remains grave.” He said that countries in the region have a particular interest in addressing the human rights problems in Burma, as hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrant workers continue to spill into neighboring countries.

Country Visit Denied

The fourth rights expert to be appointed by the United Nations to report on the situation of human rights in Burma since the mandate was instituted in 1992, Tomas Ojea Quintana has made three country visits to Burma. In his last report to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2010, Quintana infuriated the ruling Burmese generals by calling for the establishment of a UN-led Commission of Inquiry that would investigate allegations of crime against humanity and war crimes being committed in Burma. Official requests for a fourth visit to Burma have not yet been given a positive response by Burma’s ruling military regime.

Refugees from Burma Warned of HIV Risks in Malaysia

A grave concern has been raised among refugee communities in Malaysia as an increasing number of people from Burma have been tested HIV-positive.

More than 400 refugees from Burma were estimated to be HIV-infected, of which about 200 were Chin, according to Malaysian Health Care source as quoted by Kuala Lumpur-based Seihnam newsletter late last year.

During an interview about Chin refugees in Malaysia, Chin Refugee Committee (CRC), a community-based volunteer organisation, stressed that the number of HIV-infected refugees is sadly on the increase although the exact number is not known.

“In attempts to respond to this issue, CRC finally puts up efforts in making a shelter for HIV patients, and raises fund for HIV shelters on donation basis. Awareness for HIV patients was also made through HIV Live Aid Concert in 2010,” added CRC Coordinator.

The Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR), comprised of 17 Chin communities, said health seminars are conducted to educate refugees and to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and other common diseases that effect the refugee community.

Staff members from the UN sometimes come and teach our chidlren, mostly under the age of 16, about health education including HIV/AIDS awareness, said Chairman of Chin Student Organisation (CSO) in Malaysia. 

The actual population of HIV-infected refugees from Burma in Malaysia could be much higher than we have known so far as there are still many refugees without the UNHCR registration cards or legal documents who do not happen in this case to get checked up, according to one of the Chin community leaders in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Some allegedly ascribe the ‘undisciplined alcoholic drinking’ practices of Chin refugee men and its negative consequences to the main possible triggers behind the surge in HIV-infected numbers while others relate to a complete lack of knowledge and education on the disease since they were in Chin State, one of the least developed States in Burma.

“Most of the problems including anti-social behaviour, theft, physical assaults, alcohol-related and family issues are committed by those from rural villages in remote parts of Chin State. In Burma, they didn’t go to school and didn’t have education. Hence, they lack in common sense and understanding,” admitted Chairman of Chin Disciplinary Action Committee (CDAC), a community-based body tasked with tackling domestic issues that cause problems to the Chin community in Malaysia.

A report by UNFPA (United Nations Populationo Fund) Myanmar last year said the estimated number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) between 15 to 49 years of age is 230,000 in 2009, of which 35 percent were female.

More than an estimated 45,000 Chin refugees from Burma are currently stranded in Malaysia after fleeing brutalities and various forms of repressions by the military dictatorship in their native places along the Indian-Burma border.