Bock Tai Hee, the revered “guardian” of Chinese education in Malaysia, passed away at 79 due to COVID-19 complications.
Detained under the ISA in 1975 for his advocacy, he dedicated his life to empowering Chinese-Malaysian students and ceaselessly shared his wisdom until the end. His legacy lives on.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA— Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), a human rights and law reform NGO based in Malaysia, has strongly condemned the recent arrest of two high school students for posting a video on social media where they expressed dissatisfaction with their SPM history paper. In a press statement issued on February 26, LFL argued that … Read more
The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) has come under fire for extending an invitation to the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) to participate in its upcoming Annual Meeting. In an open letter to GANHRI Chairperson H.E. Maryam Abdullah Al Attiyah, the Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution for Burma/Myanmar … Read more
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has called for an urgent scaling up of humanitarian supplies to northwest Syria after warning that supplies fail to even match pre-earthquake volumes. The earthquake that struck on 6 February left 180,000 people homeless in addition to the two million people displaced by 12 years of war in the region. A … Read more
MALAYSIA – The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) has welcomed the government’s decision to place children held in immigration depots under the care of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that specialize in child welfare. Datuk Rahmat Mohamad, SUHAKAM chairman, said in a statement issued on 17 February that the move is in line with the commission’s … Read more
Cambodia is one of the countries that have seen a rapid decline in civic freedoms, according to the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that tracks the latest developments to civic freedoms across 197 countries and territories. Other countries included on the list are Iran, Peru, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. Repressive laws in Cambodia are routinely misused … Read more
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippines, as well as other ASEAN member states, must immediately halt the use of judicial harassment and politically-motivated charges against critics and political opponents, a phenomenon known as ‘lawfare’, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today at a press conference held in Manila. “We call on Southeast Asian authorities to … Read more
SINGAPORE — Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) has suspended its executive director, Ms Deshi Gill, following allegations of possible misappropriation of HOME’s funds by Ms Gill. This came after an online post via Reddit where it was alleged that Ms Gill “faked thousands of dollars in claims without providing documentation proof of these expenses”. … Read more
Singapore’s government resumed executions and pressured activists and lawyers handling death row cases in 2022, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today in its World Report 2023. The international NGO also says the government repressed rights to free expression and peaceful assembly and arrested people attempting to exercise those rights. “Singapore authorities emerged from the Covid-19 … Read more
The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) on Wednesday (25 Feb) reiterated its call for domestic workers to be allowed to live separately from their employers. HOME made its statement in the wake of reports on a Singaporean woman who pleaded guilty on Tuesday to abusing her Myanmar domestic worker to death — a case … Read more