Pusat KOMAS would like to congratulate its director Jerald Joseph for receiving the Human Rights Award from National Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) in the individual category, The Individual Awards are presented to an individual who has demonstrated significant achievements in serving the cause of human rights in the community on a pro-bono basis.
Pusat KOMAS condemns the attempts by certain irresponsible quarters to turn the recent case of theft and thuggery incident which took place at Low Yat Plaza into a racial issue. Pusat KOMAS would also like to express our strongest objection to the violence and nonsensical responses by the group of about 200 people who claimed to represent NGO's such as Persatuan Kebajikan Islam dan Dakwah Islamiah (Pekida), and also hurled derogatory and unsavoury remarks in front of Low Yat Plaza. We also...
Pusat KOMAS is increasingly alarmed and concerned about the growing trend of cultural intolerance in Malaysia today. The recently reported incidents are clear indicators of how Malaysia has regressed in terms being a mature and tolerant multi-cultural society. Furthermore it raises many crucial issues on cultural diversity, tolerance and the will and effectiveness of the authorities in addressing these issues. For instance in the incident of the individuals who were refused entry for not...
As Malaysia will be chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015, the next ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples Forum (ACSC/APF)i will also be held in Kuala Lumpur in March/April 2015, parallel to the ASEAN Summit. We are proud to say that it was the Malaysian government, under Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister, which initiated the first ASEAN civil society conference in 2005. Thus, the ACSC/APF 2015 marks a full circle since the meaningful initiative...
Why the Negara-Ku Movement is a Must, Now In his article 'Why form Negara-Ku?' which appeared in The Malaysia Insider on 14th July, 2014, Ahmad Hafidz Baharom has given our Negara-Ku Movement the opportunity to address several issues. We hope thus to be able to put to rest niggling doubts and misconceptions that not just he but others too might have, so we can move forward to deal with the imperatives of the day. Negara-Ku – why another NGO? Under the...
Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) calls upon Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar to resign over his deliberate refusal to comply with two High Court orders in two child custody cases, which is akin to mutiny. If Khalid refuses to resign, then the necessary procedure of Police Forces Commission must be triggered to result in his dismissal. GBM also censures Prime Minister Najib Razak for affirming the IGP’s renegade misconduct by suggesting the interfaith custody cases should be...
We the undersigned civil society organizations, trade unions and democratic movements in Malaysia demand that the military rule in Thailand be immediately ended and democracy be restored. The political crisis in Thailand should be resolved in a democratic and peaceful manner where the people of Thailand will be able to participate in the fullest sense in determining the future of the country. We have seen that all experiences with military juntas all over the world have spelled the death of...
17th of May 2014, Five Malaysians from different walks of life were given an opportunity to pitch their story idea for a film to a panel of judges. If their pitch is picked, they will walk away with a grant of RM6000 to make their film and have it premiered at the FreedomFilmFestival 2014 in September. They were commercial filmmaker Danny Chong; video journalist Arvind Raj; a father of 2 children with cerebral palsy Mohd. Affandi Ramli; independent filmmaker and editor Azhar Rudin; and...
United, We Malaysians Stand to Reject Violence, Hatred, Exclusion and Fear We, the undersigned groups and individuals, remember solemnly the pain of all those who have suffered in the May 13 Riot 45 years ago, deceased or living, pray for the full healing of the nation from this greatest tragedy in her 51 years, and vow to reject violence, hatred, exclusion and fear from our public life. We hold that 1, Malaysia, as formed in 1963 with Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and then Singapore coming together,...
Malaysian civil society organisations are appalled that, ahead of the ASEAN Summit on 11th May 2014, the Malaysian government has objected to the Malaysian civil society delegate due to attend the Interface Meeting between Civil Society and the ASEAN Heads of State. We are further dismayed by news that the Cambodian and Singaporean governments have also rejected the civil society Interface Delegates from both countries respectively. The Interface Meeting is a platform for ASEAN civil...