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COMMENT In the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur on Monday Jun 7, 2010, members on both sides of the political aisle joined to condemn Israel's attack on a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla for the support and assistance of the Palestinians.

In a crowded hotel function room in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday Jun 8, a Palestinian refugee addressed a forum on the situation of refugees from non-South East Asian countries currently living in Malaysia and decried the lack of any form of humanitarian support and assistance for people like himself and his fellow Palestinian refugees in Malaysia.

Because the Malaysian Government has so far refused to sign the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, people like him cannot even be officially recognised as refugees.

They have no legal status in Malaysia. They have no identification papers. They cannot work. They have to scrape together whatever they can in order to feed and clothe themselves and their families.

They live in constant fear of harassment by the police, of arrest and detention by immigration authorities and Rela personnel, and separation from their families, friends and informal support structures.

In the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur on Monday Jun 7, the prime minister tabled a 15-point motion as part of the condemnation of Israel. Under point No. 4 he said Malaysia would "cooperate with member countries of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Arab League and like-minded nations to uphold the principles of international law, including human rights laws, international humanitarian laws and the United Nations Charter, in handling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza".

We have a humanitarian crisis at our doorsteps. As at the end of April 2010 the United Nations High Commission for Refugees had registered 87,700 refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia. 81,200 are from Burma, while 6,500 are from Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world including Palestine.

Our refusal to recognise their refugee status, to provide them with humanitarian assistance to feed and clothe them, to give them a chance to work and to educate their children, all these are breaches of principles of international law, including human rights laws, international humanitarian laws and the United Nations Charter.

Charity does not start at home

During the cruel and inhumane attack by the Israelis on the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla, 9 men of Turkish nationality were killed. Their deaths are indeed a tragedy. On Wednesday 9 June 2010, the wife of the prime minister of Malaysia handed over financial contributions to the Turkish Ambassador to be passed on to the families of those who had died. Each family received US$5,000 (RM16,400).

In 2009 at least 14 foreign nationals incarcerated in our various immigration detention centres died. Their families have not received a single sen from the Malaysian Government, let alone any word of commiseration or messages of condolence.

Under point No. 5 of the motion, the prime minister called "on like-minded countries to bring a resolution to the United Nations Security Council to refer the Zionist regime's attack (on the aid ship) to the International Criminal Court (ICC)". Under point No. 7 of the motion, the prime minister proposed "that Turkey consider action most under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC)".

Malaysia is neither a signatory to the Rome Statute nor a member of the International Criminal Court. While Malaysia signed the Final Act which created the International Criminal Court in 1998, she has steadfastly refrained from becoming a member, preferring instead to observe the development and workings of the International Criminal Court from the sidelines, and to adopt a "wait and see" approach.

And finally, starting from around 2006, the Malaysian Government has called upon the government of the United States of America, an ardent supporter of Israel, to shut down Guantanamo Bay because of the breaches of human rights and mistreatment of detainees perpetrated there and the fact that the continued detention of individuals was a breach of international laws and human rights laws.

Malaysia still maintains a maximum security detention centre in Kamunting to incarcerate people detained under the Internal Security Act.

The Act has been in place since 1960. There are currently 15 people under detention, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia, for offences ranging from alleged membership of Jemaah Islamiah, to forging of documents and human trafficking. We have laws dealing with membership of proscribed organisations, with forging of documents, and with human trafficking.

However none of these detainees has been charged in a court of law or found guilty of any offence. Their continued detention and denial of due process is a breach of international laws and human rights laws.

Malaysia is not being asked not to speak up or to speak out at an international level. She has every right to do so, and also every responsibility to do so, as a member of the international community. After all, she is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

As a member she is mandated to uphold, protect and defend human rights and to speak out against breaches of human rights wherever they occur. All that is being asked is that she adopts the same resolute, determined and pro-active approach in Malaysia as she is pursuing overseas.

Malaysia must speak with one voice, both at home as well as abroad.

ANDREW KHOO is chair of the Human Rights Committee of Bar Council Malaysia, but writes here in his personal capacity.