NGOs says they will continue to campaign against the new amendment until the government decides to review it. PETALING JAYA: The government’s decision to retain Section 114A of the Evidence Act drew flak from various non-governmental organisations. Lawyers for Liberty coordinator Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said the government’s defiance showed that it was against the freedom…
They no longer posed a threat to national security, says Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. UPDATED SUNGAI BULOH: Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today announced the immediate release of 12 individuals who were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). He said today’s number did not include the three people who were released earlier at the start…
Aug 15: A local rights group has cautioned all quarters against rhetoric bordering on xenophobia with regards to the controversy over illegal immigrants in Sabah, saying the weak and oppressed among the migrant community could be victimised. Referring to a spate of comments and demands surrounding the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into…
‘What’s the use of statutory rape law then?’ one lawyer asks, while joining others in urging the AG to seek a review of the decision. PETALING JAYA: Several lawyers have condemned the recent Court of Appeal decision with regard to a national bowler convicted of raping a minor. The lawyers asked the Attorney General’s Chambers…
Press Statement While Lawyers for Liberty in principle supports the setting up of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on immigration problems in Sabah, it views with concern the escalating rhetoric and demands surrounding the RCI that may have serious repercussion on the lives and human rights of some of the most vulnerable people in Sabah including undocumented women and street children…
Lawyers for Liberty criticised a High Court judgment that sentenced a blogger to three months imprisonment for contempt of court. PETALING JAYA: Lawyers group, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said the decision to imprison the blogger reinforces the public perception that justice is only meant for the rich, powerful and well connected. “In this case, the…
Press Statement Lawyers for Liberty views with great concern the 3 month jail sentence imposed yesterday by High Court judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof on blogger Amizudin Ahmat for breaching a court order when he published 11 articles on the alleged rape of an Indonesian domestic worker by Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim. While we…
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government is objecting to a leave application by two lawyers who want to quash a notice ordering them to assist in investigations related to a bribery case. The notice was issued against Latheefa Beebi Koya and Murnie Hidayah Anuar by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) assistant superintendent Suziana Ali on March 19. The…
The Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) is a lot of hot air simply because it is one of those false progressive laws (like the Peaceful Assembly Act and the Security Offences [Special Measures] Act) that the Najib administration is good at doing but does not bear out upon closer scrutiny – a false democratic rebranding exercise…
The recent arrests of PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli and former Public Bank employee Johari Osman under the Banking & Financial Institutions Act 1989 has raised concerns on the effectiveness of the Whistleblower Protection Act. In the following interview, Eric Paulsen, co-founder and advisor at human rights lawyers organisation Lawyers for Liberty, talks about how…
A MALAYSIAN law reform advocate says Australians on trial in Malaysia for drug trafficking may face an unfair trial, and there’s little chance of Malaysia’s mandatory death penalty for drug possession being changed in the near term. Surendran Nagarajan, founder of Kuala Lumpur-based legal rights group Lawyers for Liberty, says Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs Act undermines…
Press Statement Lawyers For Liberty condemns the arrest and prosecution of whistleblowers Rafizi Ramli, PKR Strategic Director and Johari Osman, former Public Bank clerk under sections 112(1)(c) and 97(1) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) following a series of revelations of corruption related to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) and its chairperson…
Reporters Without Borders is disappointed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling today in the civil suit that Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, the political cartoonist better known as Zunar, brought against the Malaysian authorities. The suit accused them of acting illegally and causing him material losses in September 2010 by arresting him and confiscating copies of…
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — The High Court here today ruled that the arrest and detention of cartoonist Zulkiflee SM Anwar Ulhaqur, popularly known as Zunar, by police two years ago was lawful. However, Judicial Commissioner Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera said the seizure of 66 of his books and a painting was unlawful. The court…
Press Statement Although Lawyers for Liberty welcomes part of the High Court’s decision today in ruling that the seizure of 66 copies of Zunar’s “Cartoon-o-phobia” political cartoon books and a collage depicting the Prime Minister and his wife was unlawful and a clear violation of Zunar’s right to livelihood as protected by Article 5 of…