UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - Malaysia (5/7/2011)

OHCHR-All Staff Messaging/UNCHR/UN 07/05/2011 12:12 PM

To cc Subject OHCHR PRESS BRIEFING NOTE - Malaysia

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva
5 July 2011

Malaysia

OHCHR has recently been receiving reports of a crackdown by the Malaysian authorities, including harassment, intimidation, arrests and threats, targeting members of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) in the lead-up to a peaceful demonstration scheduled for this coming Saturday, 9 July.

According to reliable sources, at least 150 people have been summoned, arrested or charged, including a number of opposition Members of Parliament. The authorities have also reportedly arrested activists simply for possessing Bersih’s distinctive yellow T-shirts and campaign pamphlets.

We are very concerned about the various measures that are being taken by the authorities to restrict freedom of expression in Malaysia, including preventive detention, and the Government's decision to reportedly declare Bersih an unlawful organization.

We call on the authorities to release all those being detained for peacefully exercising their freedom of expression. We also urge the Government to take steps to repeal preventive laws, including the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance of 1969, as already called for by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

For more information or interviews, please contact spokesperson Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 or rcolville@ohchr.org ) or press officers: Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 or rshamdasani@ohchr.org ) or Xabier Celaya (+ 41 22 917 9383 or xcelaya@ohchr.org )

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ENDS

178 Indonesians Face Death Penalty in Malaysia (Tempo Interactive, 5/7/2011)

178 Indonesians Face Death Penalty in Malaysia
Tuesday, 05 July, 2011 | 16:37 WIB
TEMPO Interactive, Kuala Lumpur:

A total 178 Indonesian nationals are facing the death penalty in Malasyia, with the trials of 167 underway.


“Most were involved in drugs cases. The rest were charged with murder and firearm possession,” Mulya Wirana, the Indonesian Embassy’s deputy ambassador said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.


Mulya said the embassy would defend all Indonesian citizens in Malaysia. The embassy is currently seeking clemency for 11 Indonesians who have been sentenced to death by hanging. “The embassy is still updating the status of the 11 nationals,” he said, declining to identify them by name.


Pressure to protect Indonesian migrant workers has increased following the recent beheading of Indonesian national Ruyati binti Satubi in Saudi Arabia.


In response, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono formed the Indonesian Migrant Workers Task Force to handle cases of Indonesian migrant workers facing the death sentence abroad.


Former Nahdlatul Ulama chairman, Hasyim Muzadi, urged Yudhoyono to manage the cases first hand and lamented the establishment of the task force. “Migrant worker protection is a sensitive matter, even more than political and economic affairs. When it concerns the lives of our citizens overseas, that is about honor,” he said.

FATKHURROHMAN TAUFIQ | MASRUR (KUALA LUMPUR)