By : JANNIE LASIMBANG
IN CONJUNCTION with the
International Human Rights Day, the Malaysian Commission of Human Rights
(SUHAKAM), Kinabalu Running Club, PACOS Trust, Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd
and The Yellow Dots are organising a Human Rights Relay Run, Exhibition and
Concert on Saturday, 8 December 2012 at University Malaysia Sabah.
The purpose of this Human
Rights Relay Run, Exhibition and Concert is to celebrate and raise the
awareness of human rights in Malaysia. More than 1,500 members of the public
have already signed up for the Relay Run. Various government departments,
non-governmental organizations and companies have agreed to take part in the
Human Rights Exhibition.
The exhibition would focus
on the various efforts in promoting and protecting human rights. The concert
will provide a healthy and constructive avenue for the youths to learn and to
spread the awareness of human rights.
The organisers have put in
months of hard work and preparation. The booking fees for the UMS stadium have
been paid in full and approvals from the relevant authorities including UMS has
been obtained. In fact, the police have been supportive and would provide
monitoring personnel.
Yesterday, on the eve of the
event, the organisers received a shocking telephone call from the officials of
UMS. UMS had unilaterally retracted the permission to use their stadium and
threatened to tighten security to prevent any human rights supporter and participant
from entering its premises.
UMS had later put up a
banner stating ‘Larian Hak Asasi SUHAKAM dibatalkan’. UMS ‘justified’ by citing
the event is politically motivated and that they have received a directive from
the Chief Minister’s Department.
All efforts to contact the
authorities, the Vice-Chancellor of UMS and other UMS officials to convince
them that the event is purely for the promotion of the International Human
Rights Day and to foster good relations between participants from government, NGOs
and private sectors were futile. We have faced brickwalls from all sides of the
UMS and government authorities.
This last minute instruction
to UMS to prohibit the event is most regrettable and is strongly denounced.
SUHAKAM reminds the
government and UMS that SUHAKAM is a statutory body created under an Act of
Parliament to monitor and protect human rights as provided in the Federal
Constitution of Malaysia. It is ironic and appalling that SUHAKAM and more
importantly, Malaysian citizens are prohibited from enjoying one of the main
tenets of human rights guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution:
Freedom of Assembly.
Faced with such unfortunate
circumstances, the organisers have arranged for the Human Rights Relay Run,
Exhibition and Concert to be held at an alternative venue at Likas Lake, Kota
Kinabalu starting from 2pm.
SUHAKAM urges the Government
of Malaysia to be mindful of its commitment to human rights under Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the recent ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.
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