KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 10, 2007): Suaram (Suara Rakyat Malaysia)'s Civil and Political Rights Report 2007 has concluded that human rights in Malaysia are deteriorating, exemplified by the failure of institutions that are supposed to protect the rights.

Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng said the deterioration was most glaring in the freedom of expression and assembly with police abuse and violent crackdowns on peaceful public assemblies.

Also contributing to the deterioration are the constant threats of the use of the Internal Security Act which allowed for indefinite detention without trial.

He said the drop in ranking of Malaysia in the Reporters Sans Frontiers' (RSF) press freedom index by 32 spots to 124th place and the increased of persecution of the bloggers with arrest and criminal prosecution despite the government’s promise not to censor the Internet had also become the trend of human rights deterioration.

“Corruption allegations against the police, including the inspector-general of police, the deputy internal security minister and former Anti-Corruption Agency director-general have left these institutions with little credibility,” he told reporters at the launch of the report in conjunction with International Human Rights Day today.

Yap also said there were little avenue for redress of human rights violations as the judiciary being the last bastion in defending the rights had heavily compromised its independence since the 1988 judicial crisis and an extension of the trend in the Lingam tape expose.

He said Malaysia Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) continued to lack the political will to stand firm on human rights principles against the government as evident in its initial unwillingness to conduct a public inquiry into the Batu Buruk police shooting incident in Terengganu on Sept 8. Two unarmed civilians were shot by a police officer in the rally organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih).

The report also highlighted Suhakam commissioner Datuk Siva Subramaniam's statement that police did not resort to violence and acted professionally in dispersing Bersih's Nov 10 rally in the federal capital Kuala Lumpur.

The report pointed out that the statement had actually contradicted the commission's own recommendations in the "Bloody Sunday" incident, a rally held on May 28 last year to protest against the oil price hike that "peacful assemblies should be allowed to proceed without a licence".

Yap said: “If the (deteriorating) trend is not reversed, human rights will further deteriorate."

Suaram also presented its annual Human Rights Award with shared cash prize of RM1,500 to the Coalition against Healthcare Privatisation and the residents of Kampung Sungai Terentang in Rawang for championing the same human rights issue which was related to health.