Malaysia
Head of state: King Muhammad V (replaced King Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah in October)
Head of government: Najib Tun Razak

The crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression, of peaceful assembly and of association persisted. Police were not held accountable for human rights violations. Former opposition leader and prisoner of conscience Anwar Ibrahim, convicted on trumped-up charges of "sodomy", remained in prison serving a five-year sentence. Refugees and asylum-seekers fleeing persecution faced prolonged detention in poor conditions.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Restrictive laws such as the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act continued to be used to silence government critics, who were harassed, intimidated and often detained.

In March, the independent news portal, The Malaysian Insider, was shut down for commercial reasons after being blocked by the government. This was following critical coverage of a corruption scandal linked to the Prime Minister and the misappropriation of hundreds of millions of US dollars from the state-owned investment company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).[1]

Prosecutions of political activists and government critics persisted. In May, political activist Hishamuddin Rais was found guilty by the Court of Appeal of sedition and fined MYR5,000 (US$1,140) for calling for electoral reform.[2] Student activist Adam Adli received the same fine for the same charge. Youth activist Mohd Fakhrulrazi was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment for sedition after calling for Anwar Ibrahim's release from prison.

The Communications and Multimedia Act was increasingly used to target government critics and dissidents. In June, activist Fahmi Reza was charged twice under the Act for depicting the Prime Minister as a clown in a caricature. Muhammad Amirul Zakwan pleaded guilty to making insulting comments about the Prince of Johor on Facebook and was sentenced to two years in reform school. At least three others were either charged, detained or investigated for social media posts criticizing the Prince.

Arbitrary travel bans were imposed on three government critics, including cartoonist and political activist Zunar.

FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION

Human rights activists and opposition parliamentarians were tried for participating in peaceful protests.[3] In October, protesters travelling the country in a convoy to advocate for electoral reform and raise awareness of the Bersih 5 demonstration were subjected to physical attacks and intimidation, as well as death threats against their leaders.[4]

ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS

Preventive detention laws continued to be used to detain people alleged to have committed security crimes. Wording in the Prevention of Terrorism Act was overly broad and open to abuse; it failed to define what is meant by those "engaged in the commission or support of terrorist acts". It allowed the authorities to arrest individuals without providing grounds for detention, for up to 60 days without charge or trial. The Security Offences Measures Act (SOSMA) allowed for detention for up to 28 days without charge or trial.

In January and February, the human rights NGO Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) reported that at least 13 people were tortured or otherwise ill-treated while detained under SOSMA, including being beaten and stepped on, and being forced to strip and perform sexual acts in the presence of the authorities. Investigations were ongoing by the National Human Rights Commission at the end of the year.

The National Security Council Act, which came into force in August, provided the executive with extensive powers including arrest, search and seizure without warrant, curfews, and authority to circumvent accountability measures such as inquests into deaths in security areas.[5]

In November, the chairperson of Bersih, Maria Chin Abdullah, was arrested in connection with the organization of the Bersih demonstration (see above). She was held under SOSMA for attempting to carry out activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy. She was placed in solitary confinement for 11 days and held without charge or access to a judge in deplorable conditions, in an unknown location.

POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES

Impunity for deaths in custody and excessive use of force persisted. In April, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission found that police officers in charge of interrogating N. Dharmendran, who died in police custody in 2013, were responsible for his death by physical force and that the police later fabricated evidence to cover up his treatment during interrogation. Despite this, in June, the Kuala Lumpur Criminal High Court acquitted the four policemen charged with his murder. His widow filed a civil suit against the police and government.[6]

REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS

In May 2015, amid intense international pressure, Malaysia agreed to accept 1,100 people stranded off its coastline. The group, including over 400 Rohingya, faced prolonged detention for over a year in harsh conditions. In June, the majority of the Rohingya were released and some were resettled.[7] Immigration detention centres in Malaysia were overcrowded and conditions remained harsh.

A lack of transparency by the authorities regarding investigations into mass graves found on the Thai-Malaysian border in 2015, as well as identification of the remains, led to renewed calls on the authorities to take adequate action to investigate the deaths.

DEATH PENALTY

The death penalty continued to be retained as the mandatory punishment for offences including drug trafficking, murder and discharge of firearms with intent to kill or harm in certain circumstances. Reforms to the death penalty announced by the government in 2015 had not yet materialized. While executions and new death sentences continued to be recorded, no established procedure remained for notification to families of scheduled executions.[8]

1. Malaysia: Drop investigations against members of the Malaysia Bar (ASA 28/3758/2016)

2. Malaysia: Prison sentence overturned, fine upheld (ASA 28/4051/2016)

3. Malaysia: End crackdown on Bersih Activists (News story, 18 November)

4. Malaysia: Death threats against Bersih organizers (ASA 28/5014/2016)

5. Malaysia: National Security Council Act gives authorities unchecked and abusive powers (News story, 1 August)

6. Malaysia: Police must be held accountable for death in custody (News story, 29 June)

7. Malaysia: One year on, no justice for the "boat crisis" survivors (News story, 28 May)

8. Malaysia: Stop execution of prisoners due to be hanged (News story, 23 March)

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