The All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) met with Malaysian MP Nurul Izzah, daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, and Yolanda Augustin, Malaysian human rights campaigner and activist, on 2 November to discuss the current situation in Malaysia and Anwar’s welfare.

The speakers were:

• Nurul Izzah – Malyasian MP, campaigner and daughter of Anwar Ibrahim (NI);
• Dr Yolanda Augustin – Malaysian doctor and volunteer co-ordinator with SUARAM International (YA).

The main points which arose were as follows:

• The 1MDB corruption scandal involving $7 billion has resulted in judicial proceedings being initiated in third countries. Some of the money in the 1MDB scandal is believed to have been used to pay Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s stepson’s debts. There has been subsequent US Department of Justice (DoJ) indictment of the Prime Minister’s stepson, and the DoJ has called Malaysia one of the biggest kleptocracies.
• It is believed that London property is being purchased to launder money from Malaysia.
• Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s jailed Leader of the Opposition and former Deputy Prime Minister, continues to be held in prison after a controversial conviction for sodomy, and his health is suffering as a result. There is growing concern about his health in prison and he has had limited contact with his family. His sentence will end by 10 June 2018, and he will subsequently be banned for 5 years from politics. It should be highlighted that he has collectively spent almost 10 years of his life in prison as a result of politically motivated incarcerations. On a visit to Malaysia in 2015, President Obama followed up on an offer by Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, D.C., and asked that Anwar be allowed to travel to the US to obtain medical care.
• It is feared the Malaysian Government is gerrymandering in an attempt to retain power at the next elections. There is evidence of blatant gerrymandering on the part of the government in an attempt to take opposition seats as well as opposition-held states in the next elections.
• The Prime Minister has funded the ‘red shirts’ to intimidate opposition supporters, and Ministers are openly supporting hooligans.
• The Government is using fear tactics, and threats have been made to Nurul for her campaigning and to those involved with the ‘Free and Fair Election’ (Bersih) movement.
• It is also believed that the Government is exacerbating racial tensions to retain its majority. Though the Prime Minister claims he is a moderate Muslim in a moderate Muslim nation, in reality he is trying to appeal to more radical and extremist Muslims.

The PHRG will continue to monitor the situation in Malaysia closely and to raise its concerns with the relevant interlocutors.