(Bangkok) – The Malaysian government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has backtracked on commitments to reform vague and overbroad laws, and instead sought to expand repressive powers during 2024 to criminalize speech, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025.
For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In much of the world, Executive Director Tirana Hassan writes in her introductory essay, governments cracked down and wrongfully arrested and imprisoned political opponents, activists, and journalists. Armed groups and government forces unlawfully killed civilians, drove many from their homes, and blocked access to humanitarian aid. In many of the more than 70 national elections in 2024, authoritarian leaders gained ground with their discriminatory rhetoric and policies.
“Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim promised Malaysians sweeping reforms, but his government has instead sought to restrict freedoms of expression, assembly, and religion,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “As Anwar’s government steps up to lead ASEAN in 2025, the government should champion rights both in Malaysia and across the region.”
- The government’s recent proposals to expand powers of repressive laws, including the Sedition Act 1948 and the Communications and Media Act 1998, signal an escalation in its crackdown on free speech. Malaysia’s new Cyber Security Act, which came into force in August, expands the government’s powers to police online expression.
- Malaysia’s abusive and punitive use of immigration detention violates international human rights law. The Malaysian government detains over 16,000 refugees and migrants in immigration detention centers, facing physical abuse, malnutrition, and medical neglect.
- In October, the lower house of parliament passed constitutional amendments on citizenship, granting women rights equal to men to pass down citizenship to children born abroad. The bill, however, still contains problematic provisions, including revoking automatic citizenship for children born in Malaysia to permanent residents.
- Malaysian authorities deny the rights of Indigenous peoples, especially in eastern Malaysia, where business operations are caried out in forests that Indigenous peoples inhabit. In Sabah, the authorities forcibly evicted hundreds of Bajau Laut, a stateless, nomadic, ethnolinguistic group.
The Malaysian government should reverse its current course restricting fundamental freedoms and enact reforms that enhance respect for human rights, Human Rights Watch said.
