We refer to your report https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/537178 where the Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) had lodged a police report against a Twitter account owner (Nicole Fong) who made false and baseless allegations about the Mukhayyam programme tailored for the Muslim lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community. We regret that the author had deliberately juxtaposed Mukhayyam programmes with western’s Conversion Therapy practices namely the electric shock therapy, forced marriage, and even corrective rape which, in our opinion has triumphantly painted a sinister picture of the religious programmes organized by JAKIM and other state religious authorities. The picture implies that JAKIM’s goals and their programmes with the LGBTQ community are in line with “co...
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Greater Ties between Islamic Authorities and Suhakam a Step Forward for Human Rights
The Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations in the UPR Process (MACSA) is elated to learn from media reports that closer ties have been fostered between the various Islamic religious departments throughout Malaysia and the National Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) as elaborated by one of its commissioners Dr. Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Saleh at the 20th anniversary forum of the latter hosted at the Istana Hotel recently. Indeed the whole purpose of human rights as adumbrated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (UDHR) is to argument and compliment the teachings of Islam which teach love and reverence for and obedience to a supreme creator higher then oneself and that the grant of such rights is by the authority of and subject to this creator of all humankind, and not...
Read MoreThe Incoming 3rd Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Malaysia at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva
In two weeks time, on the 8th of November 2018, an important proceeding will be taking place at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, in Geneva. Malaysia’s human rights practices will be scrutinised in a mechanism known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). A multitude of recommendations are expected to be made by the UN member countries across the world, from the call for Malaysia to ratify various international human rights treaties to basic issues such as freedom of speech and religion, the rights of stateless persons and refugees, equality between the sexes, inter-ethnic harmony, and many more. MACSA, or in full the Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations in the UPR Process, will be sending a delegation of eight human rights defenders consisting of academics, ...
Read MoreIn conjunction with the 52nd International Literacy Day, the Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations in the UPR Process (MACSA) wishes to remind our country’s leaders, influencers and the general public of the current status of adult literacy and learning. According to the Adult and Youth Literacy: National Regional and Global Trends 1985 - 2015 Report released by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), Malaysia’s literacy rate stands at 95.4%, based on a census conducted last in 2010. It is an notable feat considering that based on prior census conducted in the year 2000, our literacy rate was marked at 92%. The increment clearly shows that our education policy is successful in advancing the literacy rate of Malaysian adult and youth. &nb...
Read MoreDefining Liberal Fascists Let’s be clear. Being Leftist does not inoculate you from behaving like a Fascist; just as authoritarianism is not the exclusive vice of the Right Wing. The Nazis, after all, were Socialist and lest we forget, Joseph “Dictator” Stalin and Chairman Mao Zedong were Communists, while Francisco “Fascist” Franco in Spain was, in fact, a Left Wing Socialist. The most archetypal examples of Totalitarianism in the 20th Century were incarnated by Left Wing ideologues and simply, using Liberal jargon with the aim to appeal to compassion and tolerance in order for you to advance a deeply authoritarian agenda does not make that agenda less offensive. What makes a movement Fascist is the degree, to which it does not accept dissent, its refusal to tolerate other opinio
Read More10 Disember adalah Hari Hak Asasi Manusia, bersempena tanggal 10 Disember 1948 apabila Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) menerima pakai dan mengisytihar Deklarasi Sejagat Hak Asasi Manusia (UDHR), deklarasi pertama menyentuh hak asas seorang manusia. Cuma, dalam menentukan hak asasi manusia, adakalanya UDHR gagal mengambil kira konteks keagamaan dan budaya setempat dalam peradaban manusia, khususnya peradaban Islam. Malaysia tidak terkecuali apabila beberapa artikel UDHR bercanggah dengan Perlembagaan Malaysia dan syariat Islam. Antara Julai hingga September 2017, Kementerian Luar (Wisma Putra) mengadakan rundingan bersama pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) bagi menerokai isu hak asasi manusia di Malaysia. Amalan hak asasi manusia di Malaysia mendapat sorotan berikutan pembabitan M...
Read MoreMACSA Dibentuk Bagi Memperkukuh Dan Mempromosikan Hak Asasi Manusia Di Malaysia
TERJEMAHAN Di antara bulan Julai hingga September 2017, Kementerian Luar Negeri, Malaysia (Wisma Putra) telah mengadakan sesi rundingan bersama badan-badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) bagi menerokai isu-isu hak asasi manusia di Malaysia. Praktis dan amalan hak asasi manusia di Malaysia mendapat sorotan berikutan keterlibatan Malaysia dalam Semakan Berkala Sejagat (Universal Periodic Review atau ringkasnya UPR), iaitu sebuah proses semakan yang dibuat secara berkala, bagi menilai tahap pengamalan hak asasi di negara-negara PBB, selaras dengan keputusan dalam Perhimpunan Agung PBB pada tahun 2006. Sepanjang sesi rundingan tersebut, perkembangan dan pelaksanaan hak asasi manusia di Malaysia telah dibincangkan dengan terperinci, dan NGO-NGO yang hadir diberi ruang untuk menyuarakan aspirasi ser
Read MoreBetween July and September 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia (Wisma Putra) held consultations with several local civil society organisations (CSOs) primarily to explore a variety of human rights concerns in Malaysia. Human rights practices in the country had come under scrutiny following Malaysia’s participation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process for regularly evaluating the human rights practices of UN members initiated by the UN General Assembly in 2006. Throughout the consultative sessions, the progress and implementation of human rights measures in Malaysia were discussed and the various CSOs in question were encouraged to be forthright about their concerns and to identify current and future challenges. We laud and thank the Malaysian government for i...
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