KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — US President Barack Obama must pressure Malaysia to improve on its flagging human rights record during his maiden visit to the Southeast Asian country, an international human rights group said.

Amnesty International USA said the president must “send a clear message” to Malaysian authorities that increasing restrictions on free speech and ongoing human rights violations by the police are “unacceptable and incompatible with the country’s human rights obligations”.

“President Obama’s visit to Malaysia — the first of a US President in almost 50 years — offers a crucial opportunity to push the authorities on much needed human rights reforms,” said Amnesty International USA director of international advocacy, T. Kumar, in a statement.

The organisation said recent court cases showed clear human rights violations. It cited as examples what it called trumped up sodomy charges against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the arrest and charges against human rights activist Lena Hendry for screening a documentary on war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Amnesty USA also singled out Putrajaya’s decision to outlaw the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs, or Comango, which had submitted recommendations to the United Nations to improve human rights in the country.

The statement said Obama should “demand the repeal or else amendment” of a wide range of laws that have been used to clamp down on activists and curtail free speech, including the Sedition Act, the Official Secrets Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Peaceful Assembly Act.

The US president should also raise concerns about human rights violations by the Malaysian police, it claimed.

“President Obama should tell Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that enough is enough — Malaysia’s human rights record must improve,” said Kumar.

Earlier, Anwar called on Obama to show leadership in his maiden visit to Malaysia and bring the ideals of freedom and democracy front and centre in his Asian pivot, which banks on securing support for Asian countries to reinvigorate US influence in the region.

“The values of freedom and democracy must remain paramount, and even if Wilsonian idealism appears to be on the wane, Jeffersonian ideals still resonate with the people in this part of the world,” he said.

Obama arrived in Malaysia this afternoon for a three-day visit after spending the past few days in Japan and South Korea.