Civil and Political Rights
In 2002, the Crowley Program investigated Malaysia's Internal Security Act. The Act gives broad powers to the police and provides for arbitrary arrest and indefinite detention in violation of both international and domestic human rights norms. In addition to the Crowley Fellow, Nicole Fritz, Crowley Scholars and Crowley faculty, the mission included Judge Azhar Cachalia of the Johannesburg High Court of South Africa.
The interviews were conducted principally in Kuala Lumpur, where members of the mission had the opportunity to observe a habeas corpus petition brought on behalf of a detainee allegedly involved in militant Islamic activities. Members of the delegation also travelled to Terangganu and Kelantan, states controlled by the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, as well as to Malaysia's other major city, Penang. The Crowley Program's Malaysia mission report, "Unjust Order: Malaysia's Internal Security Act" (PDF), was published in 26 Fordham Int'l L.J. 1345 (2003).
For more information on the current human rights situation in Malaysia, please consult:
