Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/malaysia.txu

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TITLE: MALAYSIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE: FEBRUARY 1995



In most cases the police released those detained within 24
hours.

In 1991 and 1992, separate groups of asylum seekers (totaling
approximately 300) from the Indonesian province of Aceh arrived
in northwestern Malaysia, allegedly fleeing violence stemming
from a separatist rebellion in Indonesia.  These asylum seekers
requested refugee status, and their plight has received
attention by international and local human rights
organizations.  Although the Government has refused to
recognize them as political refugees, in early 1994 it offered
to regularize the status of Acehnese in Malaysia and release
those being held in detention.  The Government offer to those
in immigration facilities and to the group residing at the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) compound included
promises of jobs on plantations and the same residency permits
enjoyed by other guest workers.  The Acehnese rejected the
Malaysian offer, contending they were political refugees, not
economic migrants.  As of December 20, 131 Acehnese were being
held in immigration detention facilities, and 53 were residing
at the UNHCR compound in Kuala Lumpur.  The latter were part of
a group of Acehnese who took refuge in the UNHCR compound in
1992 demanding refugee status.  Members of this group come and
go freely, although one has been detained.  In 1994 there was
no evidence of forced repatriation of Acehnese although the
Government has offered to assist those who wish to return
voluntarily.  According to government sources, approximately
163 Acehnese asylum seekers had returned home voluntarily as of
June 1993.

Having provided first asylum to more than 254,000 Vietnamese
boat refugees since 1975, the Government began to deny first
asylum to virtually all arriving Vietnamese in May 1989, in
contravention of its commitments under the Comprehensive Plan
of Action (CPA) on Indochinese refugees adopted in 1989.  From
May 1989 to November 1993, Malaysia denied first asylum to
10,495 Vietnamese boat people, of whom all but 145 arrived in
1989-90.  In late 1993 the Government reversed this policy and
permitted a boat carrying three Vietnamese asylum seekers to
land and be screened by the UNHCR for refugee status under
provisions of the CPA.  In addition, four Vietnamese who had
arrived by land and were being held in immigration detention
facilities were transferred to the Sungei Besi refugee camp and
screened for refugee status.  In 1994 the Government returned
to full compliance with first asylum provisions of the CPA.  In
accordance with the CPA, Malaysia finished screening Vietnamese
boat people in its first-asylum camps.  Final appeals were
reviewed in September.  Malaysian military officers do the
screening, with legal consultants from the UNHCR present during
each interview.  As of December 20, about 5,464 Vietnamese
remained in camps in Malaysia.  The Government has reiterated
that it will not forcibly return screened-out asylum seekers
but will continue to urge voluntary repatriation.  UNHCR
officials have praised the Government's treatment of Vietnamese
asylum seekers in Malaysia under provisions of the CPA.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

By law citizens have the right to change their government
through periodic elections, which are procedurally free and
fair, with votes recorded accurately.  In practice, however, it
is very difficult for opposition parties to compete on equal
terms with the governing coalition (which has held power at the
national level since 1957) because of some electoral
irregularities and legal restrictions on campaigning, as well
as restrictions on freedom of association and of the press.
Malaysia has a Westminster-style parliamentary system of
government.  National elections, required at least every 5
years, have been held regularly since independence in 1957.
Through the UMNO, Malays dominate the ruling national front
coalition of ethnic-based parties that has controlled
Parliament since independence.  Within the UMNO there is active
political debate.

Non-Malays fill 8 of the 25 cabinet posts.  The Government
coalition currently controls 12 of 13 states.  Ethnic Chinese
leaders of a member party of the government coalition hold
executive power in the state of Penang.  An Islamic opposition
party controls the northern state of Kelantan.

Women face no legal limits on participation in government and
politics, but there are practical impediments.  Women are
represented in senior leadership positions in the Government in
small numbers, including two cabinet-level ministers.  Women
comprise approximately 6 percent (holding 11 seats out of 180)
of the elected lower house of Parliament and approximately 19
percent (13 seats out of 68) of the appointed upper house.
They also hold high-level judgeships.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

After a 2-year struggle for registration, the National Human
Rights Association, a local human rights society of prominent
Malaysians, began operating in 1991.  This association publicly
criticizes the Government, although it does not investigate the
government except in response to individual complaints.  It
seeks repeal of the ISA and is reviewing Kelantan's efforts to
impose Islamic restrictions in that state.  A number of other
organizations, including the Bar Council and public interest
groups, devote attention to human rights activities.  The
Government tolerates their activities but rarely responds to
their inquiries or occasional press statements.  Malaysian
officials criticize local groups for collaborating with
international human rights organizations, representatives of
which have visited and traveled in Malaysia but rarely have
been given access to government officials.  In 1992 a group
seeking to form a local chapter of a prominent international
human rights organization appealed a government rejection of
their application under the Societies Act.  In 1993 the
Government rejected the appeal.

The Government has not acceded to any of the major
international treaties on human rights, generally maintaining
that such issues are internal matters.  It rejects criticism of
its human rights record by international human rights
organizations and foreign governments.  However, during 1993
and 1994, the Prime Minister and other cabinet officials were
vocal advocates of human rights with respect to Serbian
atrocities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Foreign government officials have discussed human rights with
their Malaysian counterparts, and private groups occasionally
have done so.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

     Women

The cultural and religious traditions of Malaysia's major
ethnic groups heavily influence the condition of women in
Malaysian society.  In family and religious matters, Muslim
women are subject to Islamic law.  Polygyny is allowed and
practiced to a limited degree, and inheritance law favors male
offspring and relatives.  The Islamic Family Law was revised in
1989 to provide better protection for the property rights of
married Muslim women and to make more equitable a Muslim
woman's right to divorce.

Non-Muslim women are subject to civil law.  Changes in the
Civil Marriage and Divorce Act in the early 1980's increased
protection of married women's rights, especially those married
under customary rites.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) concerned about women's
issues push for legislative and social reforms to improve the
status of women.  These groups raise issues such as violence
against women, trafficking in women and young girls, employment
opportunities with equal pay, and greater participation by
women in decisionmaking positions.  Statistics on domestic
violence are sketchy, but government leaders have identified
domestic violence as a continuing social ill.  The Government
is taking steps to address the problem.  In May Parliament
passed the first domestic violence bill after 8 years of
lobbying by women's groups.  It offers a broad definition of
domestic violence, gives powers to the courts to protect
victims, and provides for compensation and counseling for
victims.  However, it fails to make an act of domestic violence
a criminal offense, and women's groups have criticized it on
those grounds.  Those covered under the bill include a spouse,
former spouse, a child, an incapacitated adult, or any other
member of the family.  Cases of wife beating or child abuse
normally are tried under provisions of the Penal Code governing
assault and battery, which carry penalties of 3 months to 1
year in prison and fines up to $300.  Women's issues continued
to receive prominent coverage in public seminars and the media
in 1994.

Government policy supports women's full and equal participation
in education and the work force.  Women are represented in
growing numbers in the professions, although their
participation as of 1990 in the administrative and managerial
occupations was less than 1 percent, and they generally receive
lower wages.  In the scientific and medical fields, women now
make up more than half of all university graduates and the
total intake of women into universities increased from 29
percent in 1970 to 44 percent of the student population in
1990.  The participation of women in the labor force increased
from 37 percent in 1970 to 47 percent in 1990, including a
tripling of the number of women involved in manufacturing.

In the opposition-controlled state of Kelantan, the state
government has imposed restrictions on all female workers,
including non-Muslims.  Female workers cannot work at night and
are restricted in the dress they may wear in the workplace.
The state government justifies these restrictions as reflecting
Islamic values.  Given Malaysia's federal structure of
government, there are no legal means, short of amending the
Constitution, by which the central Government can overturn such
state laws.

     Children

The Government is committed to children's rights and welfare;
it spends roughly 20 percent of its current budget on
education.  According to statistics publicized by the National
Unity and Social Development Ministry, 1,064 cases of child
abuse were reported in 1993.  The Government has taken some
steps to deal with the problem.  Parliament passed the
Children's Protection Act in 1991, effective in 1993.  In 1994
public attention and debate on child abuse increased
significantly as Malaysia hosted the worldwide conference of
the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and
Neglect.  In 1994 Malaysian news media featured regular
reports, commentary, and graphic public service announcements
on these social problems.

Statistics on the extent of child prostitution are not
available, but women's organizations have highlighted the
problem of trafficking in underage girls.  The Health Ministry
announced that it would work closely with the police to stamp
out child prostitution, and some brothel owners have been
prosecuted.

     Indigenous People

Indigenous groups and persons are accorded the same
constitutional rights as the rest of the population, along with
the same limitations.  In practice, federal laws pertaining to
indigenous people vest almost total power in the Minister of
National Unity and Social Development to protect, control, and
otherwise decide issues concerning them.  As a result,
indigenous people have very little ability to participate in
decisions.  State governments make decisions affecting land
rights in peninsular Malaysia.  The law does not permit
indigenous persons (known as Orang Asli) in west Malaysia, who
have been granted land on a group basis, to own land on an
individual basis.  In some cases, groups of Orang Asli have
applied for titles, but state authorities have not provided
them.  Land disputes between Orang Asli and others resulted in
three people being killed in April 1993.  In February 1994,
Orang Asli from Perak complained to their member of Parliament
about encroachment on their land.

In east Malaysia, although state law recognizes indigenous
people's right to land under "native customary rights," the
definition and extent of these lands are in dispute.
Indigenous people in the state of Sarawak continue to protest
the alleged encroachment by the State or private logging
companies onto land that they consider theirs by virtue of
customary rights.  In Sarawak in 1992 the Government arrested
95 indigenous people who protested these alleged encroachments.
The protests and arrests continued in 1993, and, in January
1994, four persons were arrested in Sarawak for attempting to
stop a logging company from operating within what they claimed
was their native customary rights land area.

According to government figures, the indigenous people in
peninsular Malaysia, who number fewer than 100,000, are the
poorest group in Malaysia.  However, according to Malaysian
government officials, Orang Asli are gradually catching up to
other Malaysians in their standard of living, and the
percentage of Orang Asli who were still leading a nomadic
lifestyle has dropped to 49 percent.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Ethnic minorities are represented in cabinet-level positions in
government, as well as in senior civil service positions.
Nevertheless, the political dominance of the Malay majority
means in practice that ethnic Malays hold the most powerful
senior leadership positions in government.

The Government implements extensive "affirmative action"
programs designed to boost the economic position of the ethnic
Malay majority, which remains poorer, on average, than the
Chinese minority despite the former's political dominance.
Such government affirmative action programs and policies do,
however, limit opportunities for non-Malays in higher
education, government employment, business permits and
licenses, and ownership of newly developed agricultural lands.
Indian Malaysians continue to lag behind in Malaysia's economic
development, although the national economic policies target
less advantaged populations regardless of ethnicity.  These
programs, which have operated since the 1969 riots, are widely
credited with helping assure the generally strife-free ethnic
balance.

     People with Disabilities

While the Government does not discriminate against physically
disabled persons in employment, education, and provision of
other state services, budgetary allotments for people with
disabilities are very small.  Public transportation, public
buildings, and other facilities are not adapted to the needs of
the disabled, and the Government has not mandated accessibility
for the disabled, through legislation or otherwise.  Special
education schools exist, but they are not sufficient to meet
needs.

Disabled persons work in all sectors of the economy, but the
prevalent feeling in society remains that disabled people
cannot work.  In May the Government did take a major step to
acknowledge the rights of those with disabilities when the
Deputy Prime Minister signed the Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Proclamation on Full
Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the
Asia and Pacific region.  By signing this agreement, the
Government committed itself to implementing new policy
initiatives and actions aimed at systematically improving the
living conditions of people with disabilities.

The Government has sought to register those with disabilities
under four categories--blind, deaf, physical, mental--and by
May had identified 60,632 persons with disabilities.  It is
estimated that there are 180,000 persons with disabilities in
Malaysia.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

By law most workers have the right to engage in trade union
activity, and 12 percent of the work force are members of trade
unions.  Exceptions include certain limited categories of
workers labeled "confidential" and "superskilled," as well as
defense and police officials.  Within certain limitations,
unions may organize workplaces, bargain collectively with
employers, and associate with national federations.

The Industrial Relations Act prohibits interfering with,
restraining, or coercing a worker in the exercise of the right
to form trade unions or in participating in lawful trade union
activities.  The Trade Unions Act, however, restricts a union
to representing workers in a "particular establishment, trade,
occupation, or industry or within any similar trades,
occupations, or industries," contrary to International Labor
Organization (ILO) guidelines.   The Director General of Trade
Unions (DGTU) may refuse to register a trade union and, in some
circumstances, may also withdraw the registration of a trade
union.  When registration has been refused, withdrawn, or
canceled, a trade union is considered an unlawful association.
The Government justifies its overall labor policies by positing
that a "social compact" exists wherein the Government,
employer, and worker are part of an overall effort to create
jobs, train workers, boost productivity and profitability, and
ultimately provide the resources necessary to fund human
resource development and a national social safety net.

Trade unions from different industries may join together in
national congresses, but must register as societies under the
Societies Act.  Government policy discourages the formation of
national unions in the electronics sector; it believes
enterprise-level unions are more appropriate for this sector.
At year's end, there were six such enterprise-level unions
registered in the electronics industry (it takes only seven
workers to form a union) of which four were recognized through
elections in which they represented 50 percent plus 1 of the
workers, and two had collective bargaining agreements
negotiated with their employers.  In one case in 1990, a
company dismissed all members of one of these unions.  The
union charged the company with union-busting and wrongful
dismissal in industrial court.  The case was filed in September
1990; the union appealed an industrial court decision of May
1994 (in favor of the company) to the High Court.  The court
has set a hearing date for February 21, 1995.  Restrictions on
freedom of association in the electronics industry have been
the subject of complaints to the ILO.

Unions maintain independence both from the Government and from
the political parties, but individual union members may belong
to political parties.  Although union officers are forbidden to
hold principal offices in political parties, individual trade
union leaders have served in Parliament as opposition
politicians.  Malaysian trade unions are free to associate with
national labor societies that exercise many of the
responsibilities of national labor unions, though they cannot
bargain for local unions.  Enterprise unions also can associate
with international labor bodies and actively do so.

Although strikes are legal, the right to strike is severely
restricted.  Malaysian law contains a list of "essential
services" in which unions must give advance notice of any
industrial action.  The list includes sectors not normally
deemed "essential" under ILO definitions.  There were 18
strikes in 1993 resulting in a loss of 7,162-man days.  Most of
the strikes (13) were in the plantation sector; only 3 strikes
took place in the manufacturing sector.

The Industrial Relations Act of 1967 requires the parties to
notify the Ministry of Human Resources that a dispute exists
before any industrial action (strike or lockout) may be taken.
The Ministry's Industrial Relations Department may then become
actively involved in conciliation efforts.  If conciliation
fails to achieve a settlement, the Minister has the power to
refer the dispute to the Industrial Court.  Strikes or lockouts
are prohibited while the dispute is before the Industrial
Court.  According to 1994 data, the Industrial Court found for
labor in 62 percent of its cases and for management in 14
percent.  The remaining 24 percent were settled out of court.
The Industrial Relations Act prohibits employers from taking
retribution against a worker for participating in the lawful
activities of a trade union.  Where a strike is legal, these
provisions would prohibit employer retribution against strikers
and leaders.  In the absence of any reports of employer
retribution, it is not possible to assess whether these
provisions are effectively enforced.

There are three national labor organizations currently
registered:  one for public servants, one for teachers, and one
for employees of state-based textile and garment companies.
Public servants have the right to organize at the level of
ministries and departments.  There are three national joint
councils representing management and professional civil
servants, technical employees, and nontechnical workers.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Malaysian workers have the legal right to organize and bargain
collectively, and collective bargaining is widespread in those
sectors where labor is organized.   Malaysian law prohibits
antiunion discrimination by employers against union members and
organizers, though some union leaders say the legal system is
not capable of dealing promptly and fairly with their
complaints.  Charges of discrimination may be filed with the
Ministry of Human Resources or the Industrial Court.  When
conciliation efforts by the Ministry of Human Resources fail,
critics say the Industrial Court is slow in adjudicating worker
complaints.

Companies in free trade zones (FTZ's) must observe labor
standards identical to those elsewhere in Malaysia.  Many
workers at FTZ companies are organized, especially in the
textile and electrical products sectors.  During 1993 the
Government proposed amendments to the Industrial Relations Act
to remove previous restrictions on concluding collective
agreements about terms and conditions of service in "pioneer
industries."  Legislative concurrence, which had been expected
by year's end, did not take place because of other pressing
legislative initiatives.  The Government took these measures in
part to respond to ILO criticism of its previous policy with
respect to pioneer industries.  The ILO continues to object to
other legal restrictions on collective bargaining.  Some labor
leaders criticized amendments to Malaysia's Labor Law in 1980,
designed to curb strikes, as an erosion of basic worker
rights.  The labor critics contend that these changes do not
confirm to ILO standards.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

There is no evidence that forced or compulsory labor occurs.
In theory, certain Malaysian laws allow the use of
imprisonment, with compulsory labor as a punishment for persons
expressing views opposed to the established order or who
participate in strikes.  The Government maintains that the
constitutional prohibition on forced or compulsory labor
renders these laws without effect.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act of 1966
prohibits the employment of children younger than the age of
14.  The act permits some exceptions, such as light work in a
family enterprise, work in public entertainment, work performed
for the Government in a school or training institution, or work
as an approved apprentice.  In no case may children work more
than 6 hours per day, more than 6 days per week, or at night.
Ministry of Human Resources inspectors enforce these legal
provisions.  In December a Japanese electronics firm was fined
$5,400 for violating the Children and Young Persons Act.  This
was the first time a large firm has been fined under the Act.

According to credible reports, child labor is still prevalent
in certain sectors of the country, but not those which export
to the United States.  A joint report by the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the Asian and Pacific
Regional Organization put Malaysia's child work force at
75,000.  In the last nationwide survey of child labor
undertaken in 1980, it was estimated that more than 73,400
children between the ages of 10 to 14 were employed
full-time.   NGO surveys indicate that most child laborers are
employed on agricultural estates but there are indications that
some are being employed in small factories.  Government
officials deny the existence of child labor and maintain that
child laborers have been replaced by foreign guest workers.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

Malaysia does not have a national minimum wage, but the Wage
Councils Act provides for a minimum wage in those sectors or
regions of the country where a need exists.  Under the law,
workers in an industry who believe they need the protection of
a minimum wage may request that a "wage council" be
established.  About 140,000 workers, or 2 percent of the over
7-million-member labor force, are covered by minimum wages set
by wage councils.  Representatives from labor, management, and
the Government sit on the wage councils.  The minimum wages set
by wage councils generally do not provide for an adequate
standard of living for a worker and family.  However,
prevailing wages in Malaysia, even in the sectors covered by
wage councils, are higher than the minimum wages set by the
wage councils and do provide an adequate living.

Under the Employment Act of 1955, working hours may not exceed
8 hours per day or 44 hours per workweek of 5 1/2 days.  Each
workweek must include one 24-hour rest period.  The Act also
sets overtime rates and mandates public holidays, annual leave,
sick leave, and maternity allowances.  The Labor Department of
the Ministry of Human Resources enforces these standards, but a
shortage of inspectors precludes strict enforcement.  In
October 1993, Parliament adopted a new Occupational Safety and
Health Act (OSHA) which covers all sectors of the economy,
except the maritime sector and the military.  The Act
established a National Occupational Safety and Health Council,
composed of workers, employers, and government representatives,
to set policy and coordinate occupational safety and health
measures.  It requires employers to identify risks and take
precautions, including providing safety training to workers,
and compels companies having more than 40 workers to establish
joint management-employee safety committees.  The Act requires
workers to use safety equipment and to cooperate with employers
to create a safe, healthy workplace.

There are currently no specific statutory or regulatory
provisions which create a positive right for a worker to remove
himself or herself from dangerous workplace conditions without
arbitrary dismissal.  Employers or employees violating the OSHA
are subject to substantial fines or imprisonment for up to 5
years.

Significant numbers of contract workers, including numerous
illegal immigrants from Indonesia, work on plantations.
Working conditions for these laborers compare poorly with those
of direct hire plantation workers, many of whom belong to the
National Union of Plantation Workers.  Moreover, immigrant
workers in the construction and other sectors, particularly if
illegal entrants, may not have access to Malaysia's system of
labor adjudication.  Government investigations into this
problem have resulted in a number of steps to eliminate the
abuse of contract labor.  For example, in addition to expanding
programs to regularize the status of immigrant workers, the
Government investigates complaints of abuses, endeavors to
inform workers of their rights, encourages workers to come
forward with their complaints, and warns employers to end
abuses.  Like other employers, labor contractors may be
prosecuted for violating Malaysia's labor laws.  The Government
has taken action against labor contractors who violate the law,
and has assessed fines.  The minimum fine currently assessed by
law is $8,000.  In principle, serious violators can be jailed,
but, in practice, such punishments are rare.