KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia does not intend to ratify the UN Convention against Torture (Uncat) at this time as it would require amendments to several existing laws, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said certain provisions of Uncat mandated that Malaysian laws should not include “elements that cause severe pain”.
He pointed out that the country’s civil and shariah courts imposed caning as punishment, which is inherently painful.
“So, if such pain can’t be (inflicted), it means that when we ratify Uncat, we would have to amend a lot of our existing acts.
“Therefore, it (ratification) is a no at the moment,” Saifuddin said during his winding-up speech on the debate concerning the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia’s (Suhakam) annual report and financial statement for 2021 and 2022.
The home minister also pointed out that neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Brunei had not ratified the convention either.
Malaysia’s delay in ratifying the convention has faced criticism, with Suhakam commissioner Tengku Mohamed Fauzi Tengku Abdul Hamid previously calling out the country for not doing enough to become torture-free.
He highlighted that Malaysia and several Southeast Asian countries were yet to ratify Uncat, despite it being adopted by 173 countries globally.
84 deaths in custody from 2022 to present
Separately, Saifuddin informed the lower House that 84 deaths were recorded in police custody, immigration depots and prisons from 2022 until now.
From January 1 to June 18 this year, 20 deaths were reported in immigration depots, involving foreign nationals from Bangladesh, India, Iraq, Myanmar and the Philippines.
Health reports and autopsy results indicated that these deaths were due to illnesses.
Regarding deaths in police custody, 24 were recorded from 2022 until May 20 this year, where causes of death included Covid-19 infection, cardiac arrest and tuberculosis.
“There were no deaths due to suicide or injuries inflicted by police,” said Saifuddin.
In prisons, the minister reported 40 deaths among 84,000 inmates, with illnesses being the primary cause. – July 1, 2024