Suhakam is Right but UMNO is Confused

UMNO Youth deputy chief Datuk Aziz Sheikh Fadzir is a confused man. He has no notion of human rights nor any understanding of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999.

It is this act of parliament that created the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) "for the protection and promotion of human rights in Malaysia." Suhakam therefore has every right to advise the government of Malaysia on issues pertaining to human rights. Its purpose and function is crystal clear. Suhakam was not created to please people like Sheikh Fadzir with their pronouncements on human rights. It is as basic as that.

Sheikh Fadzir sounds ridiculous when he says, "I'm sad Musa has changed from a man I liked and respected. He wants to be popular at the expense of the country's security."

Aliran is astonished as to how absurd one can become. For Sheikh Fadzir's information, if one wants to be popular then it is foolish to take an unpopular stand. But an honest and brave stand must be taken nevertheless whether it pleases or angers friends or foes.

When Sheikh Fazir says "I don't agree with Musa that the public should be allowed to assemble at the High Court for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's verdict …," we concede that he has every right to his view. It is his basic human right. But it is only his personal view and does not represent the view of the entire nation.

Just because he doesn't agree with Musa's view, that doesn't mean Musa is wrong or is not entitled to that view. The view expressed by Musa - that citizens are entitled to gather peacefully - is not only shared by a vast majority of thinking Malaysians but is also in consonance with all the religious traditions of the world. It reaffirms Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association."

Instead of peddling the politics of fear, Sheikh Fadzir should ask himself how is it that mammoth gatherings of the BN or the over-spilling attendance at the opposition ceramahs never turn ugly or riotous? In all these events, there has been no intimidating presence of army personnel, FRU units dressed in riot-gear, water cannons, or tear gas launchers.

People like Sheikh Fadzir should attend some workshops on human rights to appreciate what these rights are all about and to understand that these are inviolable God-given rights that cannot be taken away by ill-informed and ignorant petty despots.