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I have never questioned the desirability of an opening address, at least not until a couple of days ago when I was asked to give one in a topic in which I cannot claim in-depth knowledge. So, for your sake as well as mine, I will make this short.
Ladies and gentlemen, taking refuge is as old as human history itself. In the days before civilization as we know it, human beings had to take refuge and flee from the dangers of the wild. Following progress, human beings have moved out of the forests, and started building villages, towns and cities; keeping the dangers of the wild largely at bay.
Despite centuries of technological advancements, however, human beings from time to time continue to have to take refuge from the severity of the elements, such as floods, earthquakes and typhoons. Lately we have learnt that even something as seemingly harmless as the waves and the tides of the sea can cause populations to flee, as in the case of the island of Tuvalu whose inhabitants are trying to move to the shores of Australia and New Zealand.
Now, if bearing in mind that taking refuge has been such an integral part of human living and survival for such a long time, why then are millions of refugees all over the world today being either ignored or treated with distrust and disdain?
The overwhelming majority of refugees today are running away not from something caused by nature, but rather from situations created by Man himself; such as war, tyranny, persecution, conflicts, extreme hunger, and so on. Most of us would be familiar with what has happened to places like Sarajevo and Srebrenica, but there are so many other places that are not so much in the news but that have undergone equally gross atrocities -- places such as Vukovar and Mostar for instance. And let us not forget the African continent, which houses about 40% of the entire world refugee population.
These people are victims, not criminals. They are victims of circumstances beyond their control, of tragedies created by what I would call the twin brothers of selfishness and greed. When these refugees flee to another country, such as Malaysia, in order to escape persecutions and suffering at home; how are they generally treated? Are they looked upon as people in need of compassion and help, or do they carry the labels of shame and disgrace? I am sure our speakers today will enlighten us on a lot of different aspects in this subject.
As far as Malaysia is concerned, the Bar Council regrets that the Government has yet to ratify the relevant Conventions, such as the 1951 Convention in relation to the Status of Refugees (& its Protocol), or the 1987 Convention Against Torture & Cruel, Inhuman and Other Degrading Forms of Punishment or Treatment. What is worse, in our view, is that in July last year an amendment was introduced to our Immigration Act, making it mandatory to punish, by whipping, persons convicted of having illegally entered the country.
Whipping is never a solution to the worldwide problem of refugees. It is also a cruel and inhuman form of punishment. Malaysia today must not fall short of full conformity with international laws when treating refugees and asylum seekers; especially when our leaders have been vocal in pointing out, sometimes quite rightly, the errors and wrongs of others in the international arena.
I shall leave it to our learned and distinguished speakers today to guide us into what I am sure will be a very lively and beneficial discussion on all aspects concerning issues in relation to the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. I hope that, out of the battle of ideas this afternoon, some form of concrete measures or steps will emerge or be formulated so that we can, together, make life perhaps a little better for asylum seekers who find their way into Malaysia.
The Bar Council is proud to have organized this event; and we salute all of you who are here, who have taken time to care about this very important humanitarian issue. With that, I hope that you will have a very fruitful, as well as enjoyable, discussion; and I thank you very much.
Published in Infoline August 2003
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Circular No 109/2012: Be a Part of the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee
