Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary- General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP National Save Sim Kie Chong Committee held at DAP PJ hqrs on Wednesday, 4.9.1985 at 8 p.m.
DAP from a Human Rights Committee and will hold a Human Rights Convention in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 15
On 16th December 1966, Malaysia together with 105 other countries, voted in United Nation General Assembly to adopt the International Covenant of Civil and Political rights.
Unfortunately, Malaysia did not ratify the Covenant when it was opened for signature and ratification on December 19, 1966 and for the last years, Malaysia remained one of those countries which voted for but did not ratify the Covenant.
One important reason why Malaysia has not ratified the international Covenant of Civil and Political Rights is because it would have to report its human rights measures to a Human Rights Committee, which would have the power to consider complaints about violations of human rights. Thus, in the Sim Kie Chon case, where there is discrimination between Malaysians of different stations, as in Cabinet Minister Mochtar Hashim and ordinary Malaysian Sim Kie Chon, the United Nations Human Rights Committee would have the power to call on the Malaysian government to defend its refusal to commute Sim’s death sentence when Mochtar Hashim’s death penalty could be commuted.
If Sim Kie Chon is not pardoned with this death penalty commuted to life imprisonment, then Malaysia’s human rights record would be further blemished.
Although the Malaysian Constitution enshrines fundamental liberties of Malaysians, they are subject to so many qualifications that these constitutional guarantees cease to have much meaning, whether it is freedom of speech, assembly, association, of freedom of movement or liberty of person.
The DAP has formed a Human Rights Committee to broaden the areas of human rights in Malaysia, to check the serious erosion of the human rights in the country.
The DAP Human rights Committee will be headed by the DAP Deputy Chairman, Sdr. Karpal Singh( MP for Jelutong) and will comprise the following:
Chairman: Karpal Singh (MP for Jelutong and DAP National Deputy Chairman)
Vice Chairman: Fadzlan Yahya (Perak Assemblyman for Pasir Bedemar & National Vice
Chairman)
Dr. Oon Hong Geok (Selangor)
Chong Siew Chiang (Sarawak)
Secretary: K.C.Cheah
Asst. Sec: Mahadevan Nair (Selangor)
Yau Jiok Hwa (Malacca)
Treasurer: Dr. Eng Seng Chai (Selangor)
Committee: Ismail bin Mohd. (Pahang)
Lim Kwi Siam (Johore)
Mohd. Isa bin Mohd. Ismail (Federal Territory)
Teoh Teik Huat (Penang)
Ngoi Thiam Who (Perak)
George John (Kedah/ Perlis)
M.Kuppsamy (N.S.)
The DAP Human Rights Committee will organize a Human Rights Convention in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Sept. 15 which will examine the problem of press freedom, the basic rights of liberty of expression, opinion, assembly and association, religious rights the liberty of the person as well as socio- economic freedoms in the country.