WAO:

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ):
Stop targeting critics
by Gayathry Venkiteswaran
Executive Director

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is deeply concerned about the targeted condemnation against a network of women's rightsorganisations.The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) has been raising questions over the absence of human rights standards in a recent Syariah court decision to whip a woman for consuming alcohol. JAG has also called for the repeal of the syariah criminal offences law, which has been criticised by 40 Muslim organizations and two wings of the ruling party UMNO, for allegedly insulting Islam and the nine Malaysian monarchs, in their role as guardians of Islam.

According to online news site Malaysiakini, the organizations lodged police reports against JAG on 1-9 October. One of the groups, Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) is also mobilizing people to lodge more police reports against JAG.This is a clear example of the intimidation of women's voices defending women's human rights.

In July, the Syariah High Court in Pahang imposed a fine of RM5,000 and a sentence of six strokes of a whip on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno for drinking beer in public. Following international press coverage and public outcry, the sentence was deferred to after Hari Raya (Muslims' new year) celebrations in September. New Straits Times reported that Kartika is the first person in Malaysia to be whipped for drinking in public.

However, JAG has argued since 2005 that the implementation of the syariah criminal offences has been problematic on syariah, constitutional and legal grounds. JAG has called for a review of Kartika's sentence, saying that it contradicts Malaysia's obligations under the United Nations
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as well as other ASEAN level commitments on women's rights. CIJ is worried that instead of addressing these arguments, the groups who lodged police reports resorted to inflammatory charges to shut down an opportunity to look at the issue objectively. Calling for police action to be taken against JAG under various undemocratic laws is tantamount to calling for punishment against those who raise fair comment.

This is not the first public mobilisation against the women's groups, as NGOs including those supposedly defending human rights have in the past voiced strongly against the organising of dialogues on freedom of religion. Forums on conversion to Islam organized by the Article 11 coalition in 2006 and by the Bar Council in 2008 were disrupted by angry protesters. In June, the Islamic party PAS has called for government investigation into a feminist Muslim group, Sisters in Islam, for being anti-Islam. Views contrary to the dominant political and Islamic religious authorities in the form of speech, publications and art are not tolerated by the state and its supporters. CIJ views these actions as intimidation of genuine voices and while we accept the rights of the groups to voice their protest against JAG, we worry the implications on free expression could be damaging.

CIJ deplores the call for and usage of restrictive laws against critics of public interest issues. We believe that the issues raised by JAG have to be resolved with level-headedness. Punishing JAG for raising the question does not eliminate the problem itself.

We call on the authority not to take action against JAG and for the groups to stop their intimidation.

Gayathry Venkiteswaran
Executive Director
Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
27C Jalan Sarikei, off Jalan Pahang
53000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 4023 0772
Fax: 03 4023 0769

A media watch dog today threw its support behind the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), urging the authorities not to clamp down on the rights body for speaking up on social issues.

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) also called on various bodies, especially 40 Muslim organizations and Johor Baru Umno Youth and Wanita Umno, to stop their "targeted condemnation" of these women's rights organizations.

CIJ executive director Gayathry Venkateswaran expressed concern over the police reports lodged against JAG in recent weeks.

"Calling for police action to be taken against JAG under various undemocratic laws is tantamount to calling for punishment against those who raise fair comment.

Punishment does not lead to solution

"CIJ is worried that instead of addressing these arguments, the groups who lodged police reports resorted to inflammatory charges to shut down an opportunity to look at the issue objectively," she said in a statement today.

Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia's (ABIM) attempts to mobilise people to lodge more police reports against JAG clearly is an intimidation of women's voices defending women's human rights, she added.

Rejecting the use of restrictive laws against critics, she stressed that the issues raised by JAG "have to be resolved with level-headedness".

"Punishing JAG for raising the question does not eliminate the problem itself," she said.

She pointed out that this is not the first public mobilization against women's groups, as non-governmental organizations, including those supposedly defending human rights have in the past voiced strongly against the holding of dialogues on the freedom of religion.

"Forums on conversion to Islam organized by the Article 11 coalition in 2006 and by the Bar Council in 2008 were disrupted by angry protesters.

"In June, PAS called for a government investigation into Sisters in Islam, for being anti-Islam," she said.

Gayathry remarked that "views contrary to the dominant political and Islamic religious authorities in the form of speech, publications and art are not tolerated by the leaders and its supporters".

She described these instances as "intimidation of genuine voices" and is worried that "the implications on free expression could be damaging".

JAG, a coalition of five NGOs - Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor, Women's Aid Organisation, Sisters in Islam, All Women's Action Society and Penang Women's Centre for Change - dedicated to defending women's rights, has been raising questions over the absence of human rights standards in the recent Syariah court decision to whip a woman for consuming alcohol.

Its call for the repeal of the syariah criminal offences law has come under wide criticism by 40 organizations for allegedly insulting Islam and the nine Malaysian monarchs, in their role as guardians of Islam.