CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE TAN SRI HASMY AGAM Chairman The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia This is the 14th Annual Report produced by the Commission since it came into operation in April 2000 as an independent National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) that promotes and protects the human rights of all peoples in Malaysia. This report presents a record of the Commission’s work including activities and programmes undertaken, service delivery and financial management for the period ending 31 December 2014. During the year, the Commission continued to discharge its core functions and powers pursuant to Section 4 of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 (Act 597) through, among others, thematic studies; education and awareness raising activities; advocacy on the country’s accession to the remaining core human rights treaties and optional protocols, and the removal of reservations to the three treaties it had ratified or acceded to; monitoring of the country’s implementation of its treaty obligations; investigation into alleged human rights violations; and engagement with domestic, regional and international stakeholders and human rights mechanisms. It also continued its on-going work with regard to the rights of vulnerable groups such as the Indigenous Peoples, children and women, persons with disabilities, older persons, migrant workers, detainees, refugees and asylum seekers. In fulfilling its mandate the Commission also expressed its views and recommendations on a range of human rights issues in the country through media statements and interviews. An issue of particular concern to the Commission is the alarming escalation in the arrest and prosecution of individuals under the Sedition Act 1948 by the authorities in Malaysia. In response to this worrying situation, the Commission has strongly advocated for the repeal of this outdated Act, which allows for the criminalisation of speech or acts deemed as having “seditious” tendency. The right to freedom of opinion and expression is vital for promoting good governance and social progress in a modern democracy, in which the people have the liberty to freely debate and express their opinions or concerns on public policies and legislation that have an impact on them or the nation as a whole. This right is also essential to the fulfilment of other human rights 1