ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Nevertheless, SUHAKAM continues to support efforts by the government to reform policy and legislation related to human rights, and has been involved in the drafting and review of laws related to sexual harassment, discrimination against women, employment, domestic workers and the abolition of the mandatory death penalty, in its capacity as an advisory body to the government. Even so, the pace is rather slow, and SUHAKAM hopes that this work can be prioritised and sped up further. What has become clear in 2019 is that attitudes towards SUHAKAM and human rights have shifted. SUHAKAM is considered a reputable and credible authority on human rights in the country and received numerous memoranda from civil society organisations and individuals pertaining to human rights abuses throughout the year. SUHAKAM’s work is taken seriously and scrutinised by the media and our civil society partners. Until now, human rights has been low on the list of national priorities but the long list of legal reforms being proposed which directly relate to the civil, political and economic rights of Malaysians is promising indeed. Since its establishment in 1999, SUHAKAM has consistently called for the debate of its annual report in Parliament. It took 20 years and a change of government for this to become a reality. The 2018 SUHAKAM Annual Report was debated on 5 December 2019 for the first time, marking a shift in public consciousness about human rights and its place in Malaysian society. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law) Datuk Liew Vui Keong began the session by highlighting the work done by SUHAKAM in the past year. He drew special attention to SUHAKAM’s work with the state religious authorities, collaboration with the Ministry of Education in introducing human rights education in schools, and advice regarding legal policies related to refugees. He spoke on the investigation into the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat. He said that the outcome of the investigation, as well as the national conversation surrounding it, can encourage future cooperation with the government to push Malaysia towards the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED). The Minister also highlighted the issue of children’s rights, including child marriage, abuse and sexual exploitation of children, which impacts their access to education, health, equality and non-discrimination. ix