KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 – Signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) would not accord Malaysians any more liberties than already contained in the Federal Constitution, a former chief justice argued today.
According to Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad, rights not expressly provided by the nation’s supreme set of laws could not be recognised here even if they are listed within the articles of the 1948 treaty.
“The Federal Constitution is Malaysia’s highest law. Any laws against the constitution is illegal and should be considered void,” he said during a forum organised by the Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs (ACCIN) here.
Abdul Hamid said this was clearly stated in Section 4 (4) of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999.
He said this meant that no legal challenge can be mounted here for violations of “basic human rights” unique to the UDHR.
For example, he said that same-sex marriages cannot be allowed for Muslims in Malaysia even though the UDHR may state otherwise.
“The Federal Constitution stipulates that family laws for Muslims are according to Islamic law. Islamic law states that same-sex marriages are not permissible,” he said.
Abdul Hamid’s stand echoes that of Muslim rights groups, who have long argued that the UDHR is incompatible with Muslim-majority Malaysia as the treaty placed too much emphasis on secular, western culture as well as individuality instead of traditional values such as belief in God and family.
Muslim groups have sought to discredit human rights groups and movements ahead of a Universal Periodic Review Process by the United Nations last November, and have continued their offensive since.
Earlier this month, the Home Ministry outlawed the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the Universal Periodic Review Process (Comango), a gathering of rights groups that led Malaysia’s participation at the UPR, after saying it was unregistered and accusing member NGOs of being un-Islamic.
