Malaysia

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to education in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Girls, due to leaving school for early marriage or caretaking
• Orang Asli children, especially in remote areas
• Non-citizens do not have access to public education, including undocumented migrants, immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and stateless children
• Undocumented migrants, refugees, and stateless children, due to alternative learning centres not being recognised by the state, such as Borneo Komrad in Sabah
• Stateless children and Rohingya refugee children are banned from public schools in Sabah
• Speakers of minority languages and their communities
• Children in families with a low income, due to not being able to afford public school, transportation, uniforms, and books
• Students from the LGBTQIA+ community face harassment at school and are more likely to drop out
• Children with disabilities, due to lack of inclusive and accessible education practices
• Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is not taught in schools, instead children receive lectures about sexual abstinence

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to food in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• All people, due to rising food costs, especially those with a low income, those who are homeless, internally displaced people, and refugees
• Orang Asli and Orang Asal lack access to nutritious food, especially in rural areas where land development projects affect food supplies
• Non-citizen families, including migrants, refugees, and stateless people, especially when the primary wage-earner in the family is detained or arrested, including during immigration raids, leading to hunger and begging on the street for the family
• Refugees and stateless people, due to lack of employment and citizenship limiting their access to government aid to obtain food
• Migrant workers
• Farmers, due to climate change impacting their crop yields
• People and communities with a low economic status, such as B40s
• People who are homeless, especially in Johor Bahru

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to health in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Orang Asli, due to living in remote areas with less healthcare infrastructure
• Non-citizens, including undocumented migrants, refugees, and stateless people, due to lack of access to public healthcare and inability to pay hospital fees, especially Bajau Laut people
• Migrants and refugees avoid necessary medical care for fear of arrest and deportation if caught at medical centres
• All refugees, especially Rohingya
• Migrant workers, especially those in exploitative industries, due to high medical costs and lack of legal protections
• Women, due to abortion being legal only when the mother’s life is at risk or to protect the mother’s mental and physical health
• People in certain geographic locations and people affected by the climate crisis face difficulties accessing medical care centres
• Members of the LGBTQIA+ community face discrimination in healthcare
• Detainees, due to inadequate health services

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to housing in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Orang Asli communities are displaced by land development and logging projects
• Non-citizens, including undocumented migrants, refugees, and stateless people, due to high rents and small spaces
• Rohingya refugees in immigration detention centres, due to mistreatment and overcrowding
• Migrants from Africa or South Asia face discrimination when seeking housing
• People with low economic status, especially in urban areas with flats from the Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) housing scheme
• People and communities with low economic status, such as B40, and people who are unemployed, due to lack of stable housing options and high costs
• People who are unemployed
• Members of the LGBTQIA+ community regularly face discrimination, leading to social exclusion and homelessness
• People who are homeless in urban areas, especially in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and Penang
• Landlords in the Klang Valley discriminate against non-Chinese tenants, especially Indians

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to arbitrary or political arrest and detention by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• People who are critical of the government and members of the political opposition are likely to be arrested
• Members and supporters of opposing political parties experience police harassment and prosecution
• Protesters are arrested during protests and other dissenting activities, especially human rights advocates, activists, political activists, and people critical of the government
• Human rights advocates and defenders, especially those who are critical of the government and those who report on government corruption and abuse
• Student activists who protest on campus, especially those critical of the government, risk arrest
• Activists, particularly land rights activists and women’s rights activists face intimidation
• Worker’s rights and labour union advocates, due to protests being stopped and organisers detained
• The National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services (NUWHSAS) face intimidation
• Nine Bajau students in Sabah were arrested and detained for participating in a protest advocating higher education for stateless students
• Any Muslim person who converts or is associated with other religious organisations may be arrested
• Irregular migrants without documentation, including refugees and asylum-seekers, are detained and targeted by state agents
• Migrants and their children, especially migrant workers
• Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, including sexual minorities, transgender people, and anyone associated with the community, due to intimidation and the criminalization of same-sex conduct and gender diversity
• People with low economic status, especially Indians
• Police brutality disproportionately affects people with a low income, particularly in drug related raids 

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to disappearance by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• People associated with political opposition parties, especially activists
• Activists, especially those defending the rights of religious minorities
• People still remain missing from many years ago, including Raymond Koh, Amri Che Mat, Joshua Hilmi and his wife Ruth Hilmi 

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to death penalty executions by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• The mandatory death penalty was abolished in Malaysia in 2023, however death sentences continue to be imposed
• People accused of crimes, especially drug-related offenses such as trafficking 

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to extrajudicial killing by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Malaysia has no laws prohibiting extrajudicial killings
• There was one incidence of extrajudicial killing by the police on 13 August 2024
• There are several reports of people dying under ‘suspicious circumstances’ in police custody

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to assembly and association by the government or its agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Political opposition members and their supporters face restrictions on their campaign activities
• Human rights advocates and activists face intimidation, harassment, and risk arrest for protesting, assembling, or participating in other dissenting activities, especially farmers, members of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), and members of Suara Mahasiswa Universiti Malaysia Sabah
• Groups advocating for electoral reform face intimidation and threats of legal action
• Children under 15 years old are not allowed to participate in gatherings or protests, except for religious, cultural, or funeral gatherings, under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012
• People critical of the government, especially members of political opposition parties
• Peaceful protesters and political activists, especially regarding issues deemed ‘sensitive’ by the government, such as corruption, human rights abuses, and their potential links to the monarchy or state agents
• Human rights advocates and members of civil society organisations promoting human rights, democracy, women’s rights, or media freedom face excessive paperwork, restrictions, and intimidation concerning their public events
• Student activists who protest on campus, especially those critical of the government, face suspensions, disciplinary action, and arrests
• Women and women’s rights groups
• Worker’s rights and labour union advocates, due to protests being stopped and organisers detained
• Migrant workers are not allowed to participate in labour unions
• Non-citizens, including migrants, immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and the stateless, due to not being allowed to participate in peaceful gatherings
• Vulnerable communities, especially Indigenous peoples, workers, migrants, people with low social or economic status, and farmers
• LGBTQIA+ groups are banned, denied registration, and prohibited from assembling or they risk arrest
• Minority religious groups struggle to obtain permits for gatherings and are closely monitored by the state
• Muslims belonging to minority sects

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to opinion and expression by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Anyone critical of the government or religious figures faces investigations and possible arrests under the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act, especially people on social media, activists, and the political opposition
• People who express opinions opposing race, religion, or royalty
• Members of the political opposition, especially when critical of the government
• Human rights advocates, activists, and defenders
• Advocates and groups that speak out against mistreatment, especially marginalised groups such as women and girls, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, migrants, and members of the National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services (NUWHSAS)
• Journalists and members of the media, especially independent journalists, are subject to censorship, intimidation, lawsuits, and harassment, particularly when criticising the government and the monarchy or reporting on corruption, human rights abuses, or religious issues
• LGBTQIA+ groups are banned and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are not allowed to express their identities for fear of being arrested
• Academics, due to research topics facing censorship if dealing with topics deemed politically sensitive
• Artists, due to their artwork facing censorship if dealing with topics deemed politically sensitive, such as the film Mentega Terbang
• Social media users
• Muslims belonging to minority sects

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their political participation by the government or its agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Political opposition members and their supporters face restrictions on their campaign activities and their ability to contest elections
• Groups advocating for electoral reform face intimidation, legal action, and threats
• People suspected of terrorism, due to monitoring and detention limiting their access to voting areas, under the Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA)
• Indigenous people, due to logistical barriers
• Non-citizens, including foreigners, migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people, and stateless people, are not allowed to participate in government
• Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially transgender people, due to state agents questioning their identity during voting and voting registration
• People with disabilities, due to lack of accessible voting areas
• Ethnic and religious minorities, due to systematic barriers such as citizenship status
• Prisoners require permission to vote from the Director General of the Prisons Department