Kuala Lumpur, Paris, 16 May 2017: Malaysian authorities must immediately conduct swift, thorough, and impartial investigations into the disappearances of a social worker and a pastor, FIDH, its member organization Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), and the civil society coalition Citizen Action Group on Enforced Disappearance (CAGED) urged today. The three groups made the call a [ Read more ]

H.E. Tan Sri Razali bin Ismail Chairman of Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (SUHAKAM) 11th Floor, Menara TH Perdana, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur 50250 Malaysia 13 March 2017 Re: ANNI Letter concerning the unjust conviction of human rights defender, Lena Hendry, by Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court Dear Mr. Chairman, On behalf of the Asian [ Read more ]

Lena Hendry was found guilty on February 21 2017 by the Magistrate’s Court in Kuala Lumpur for screening “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka”, a film on human rights violations during the civil war in Sri Lanka. Her sentencing will take place on March 22, 2017. Human rights defender and former PUSAT [ Read more ]

23 February 2017 Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) strongly condemn the detention of the 15 years old Rohingya refugee for not possessing appropriate travel documents. Refugees remain one of the most marginalized community in Malaysia due to the continued refusal to acknowledge their existence by the Malaysian government and government institutions. The legal vacuum in terms [ Read more ]

21 February 2017 Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) finds the decision to convict Lena Hendry by the magistrate court under Section 6(1)(b) of the Film Censorship Board regrettable and flawed in nature. The absence of adequate evidence led to Lena’s initial accquital was sound as there was a lack of evidence on part of the prosecution [ Read more ]

After interviewing its new Executive Committee Members and Executive Director, FORUM-ASIA met with Chew Chuan Yang (Dobby), Documentation & Monitoring Coordinator of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), a FORUM-ASIA founding member organisation from Malaysia. The story of SUARAM has been featured in FORUM-ASIA 25th Anniversary Publication ‘Our Struggles for Human Rights – 25 years of FORUM-ASIA’, [ Read more ]

(Kuala Lumpur, 21 November 2016) –  The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), Fortify Rights, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), acting as international observers of the Bersih 5 rallies and related events, are calling [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 19 November 2016) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly condemns the ongoing legal harassment against Bersih 5 organisers. We urge the Malaysian Government to respect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly enshrined in the Constitution, drop politically-motivated charges and immediately release all Bersih 5 organisers who were arrested [ Read more ]

33rd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 8: Follow up to and implementation of Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action – General Debate Oral Statement Delivered by Ahmed Adam On behalf of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Monday, 26 September 2016   Mr. President, we note the two [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur, 2 August 2016) – Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) and the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) are greatly concerned by the recent statements and comments of Tan Sri Razali, the newly appointed Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). In a recent interview published in The Star Online [ Read more ]