We fought for reforms but it was a waste of time, says Ambiga

SHAH ALAM - The Institutional Reform Committee (IRC) report made for the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) government under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2018 was simply a waste of time, says former Bar Council chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan.

English news portal MalaysiaKini quoted Ambiga as saying despite several recommendations implemented, no actions were taken towards the proposal such as prison reforms.

"You would think after spending three to four months feeling excited that the PH government would bring reforms.

"We killed ourselves day and night, and now I don't know why I wasted my time to produce, with some other very, very eminent people, an institutional reforms report.

"Some action was taken on it but a lot wasn't. What's so difficult about prison reform, it's about people living humanely," she told the news portal.

She said this after attending a forum titled 'The Intersection of the Rule of Law and Human Rights in Malaysia' during the Malaysia International Law Conference held at the Shangri-la Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

The IRC was established in 2018 by the Council of Eminent Persons under the PH government which comprised of Ambiga, retired Court of Appeal judges Datuk KC Vohrah and Mah Weng Kwai, National Patriot Association president at the time Mohamed Arshad Raji and constitution expert Shad Saleem Faruqi.

Ambiga spoke on the treatment of refugees and stateless individuals in Malaysia on how they were treated without a shred of humanity despite themselves should be given the basic universal human right.

"That is the essence of human rights, it's the same for all and you are born with that right.

"It is not for others to give, you own it as a human," she said.

Ambiga had questioned the politicians in Malaysia on whether they have forgotten the basic human right in the Federal Constitution that they claim as Western influence.

She claimed that if basic human rights were not suited for Malaysia, how would it not understand them despite attempting to gain a seat in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Ambiga had praised the works of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) which produced a detailed report on human rights in Malaysia for the past few years despite nothing being done to it after reaching Parliament as what happened to the Auditor-General Report and similar documents.

She stated most politicians were too focused on the wrong priorities that would not prioritise the upcoming generations and hoped that changes would be made in the elections.

"Want to know why they (politicians) don't care? They are more interested in elections.

"That's why they use religion. Do you think they truly believed in their own words? They use it because it's the best method to divide us all.

"We have made changes before and we can do it again, I think it should not be influenced with the divisive politics played now," she said.