SUHAKAM also played the role of amicus curiae in the appeal of Rosliza
binti Ibrahim v Government of Selangor & Anor. SUHAKAM provided a
comprehensive perspective of fundamental liberties and human rights to
assist the court in answering two questions of public interest: (a) whether
a person has the liberty to profess his religion and to thereby determine
his religious status; and (b) where there is a legitimate question as to a
person’s religious status and which adjudicatory body has the authority to
decide the final outcome. The case is still ongoing in the Federal Court and
SUHAKAM hopes to play a more active role as amicus curiae to create
awareness of human rights within the judiciary.
SUHAKAM record our appreciation to Counsel for their pro bono
representation in these cases. The lawyers are Mr. Mahajoth Singh, Mr. Louis
Liaw, Mr. Cheang Lek Choy, Mr. Mansoor Saat, Ms. Nor Herdawati Harun,
Mr. Lim Heng Seng, Mr. Collin Andrew, Datuk Joy Wilson Appukuttan, Mr.
Amrick Singh and Mr. Nizam Bashir Abdul Kariem Bashir.
4. MIGRANT WORKERS
On 13 April, SUHAKAM organised an online dialogue on “The Needs of
and Challenges faced by Migrant Workers and Undocumented Workers
amid COVID-19 Pandemic”. The dialogue identified multiple challenges
encountered by the migrant workers, including access to food, government
aid, healthcare services and information on COVID-19, non-payment of
wages by employers, risk of retrenchment, detention of migrant workers
and overcrowding at the Immigration Detention Centres. In the case of
detention centres, SUHAKAM repeatedly alerted the government on the
conditions as well as the risk of COVID-19 infections and called for the
National Security Council, Immigration Department and Royal Malaysia
Police to have clear and proper standard operating procedures (SOP) in
line with the Ministry of Health (MOH).
SUHAKAM calls on the Ministry of Human Resource and Department of
Labour namely the Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia, Department
of Labour Sabah and Department of Labour Sarawak to investigate
complaints of non-payment of wages by employers and to monitor the
situation of unavoidable retrenchments where migrant workers should
be well-informed and properly terminated. More importantly, SUHAKAM
has recommended the government extends its assistance to this group
by including comprehensive strategies in the PRIHATIN Economic Stimulus
Package to enhance the recovery and give assistance to migrant workers.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2020