Free Malaysia Today | The High Court held that the Peaceful Assembly Act did not allow the police to stop an assembly — the Malaysian Bar’s “walk for judicial independence” — from being held. New Sin Yew, the Bar’s lawyer, informed the court that the Bar was only demanding RM1 as nominal damages since the suit was being brought as a matter of principle.
Malay Mail | The High Court ruled that the police had acted ultra vires (beyond powers) to impose a condition that absolutely prohibited the Bar Council’s assembly and march, dubbed the Walk for Judicial Independence, in 2022. The suit was filed through Messrs AmerBON, and New Sin Yew acted for the Malaysian Bar.
New Straits Times | Malaysian Bar President Mohamed Ezri Abdul Wahab said that the High Court decision regarding the Bar Council’s march for judicial independence in 2022 reaffirmed the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and served as an important precedent in upholding constitutional freedoms. Lawyer New Sin Yew acted for the plaintiffs.
The Jakarta Post | There are high expectations that the rights of indigenous peoples in ASEAN will be strengthened in the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights, currently being discussed by AICHR under Malaysia’s chairmanship. Advocacy groups are looking to AICHR Chair Edmund Bon to ensure that the new declaration will be fully centred on these rights and on environmental protection.
The Edge Malaysia | The Court of Appeal substituted the High Court decision that acquitted former Aker Engineering Malaysia manager Ahmad Hatta Kamaruzzaman over a charge of giving false material information to SSM, with a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA). Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay, and Michael Cheah acted for Ahmad Hatta.
The Edge Malaysia | Amer Hamzah Arshad, who appeared with Joshua Tay and Lee Yee Woei for S. Nimalan, said that his client could not be found guilty of the murder of deputy public prosecutor Datuk Kevin Morais. At most, S. Nimalan could be involved in the offence of abduction or disposing of evidence.
Monash University | Edmund Bon, Chair of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR, encouraged the research team to make a formal submission of the research findings to AICHR and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).
Harian Metro | Mahkamah Rayuan mengembalikan keputusan Mahkamah Sesyen yang menjatuhkan hukuman penjara sehari dan denda berjumlah RM2.25 juta terhadap Amirruddin Nin, bekas pengarah CTB Solutions Sdn Bhd kerana gagal menghadiri siasatan oleh Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia. Peguam Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay H’ng Foong dan Lee Yee Woei mewakili Amirruddin.
New Straits Times | Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said no one emerged victorious in the case of six former UPNM students convicted for the death of a navy cadet officer. The six avoided the death penalty when the Federal Court upheld the High Court’s 18-year jail term for causing Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain’s death.
Malaysia Gazette | Pada 2 November 2021, Mahkamah Tinggi menjatuhkan hukuman penjara 18 tahun terhadap semua enam bekas pelajar UPNM itu, selepas mendapati mereka bersalah kerana menyebabkan kematian Zulfarhan tanpa niat membunuhnya.
Malaysia Gazette | Enam bekas penuntut UPNM terlepas hukuman gantung selepas Mahkamah Persekutuan hari ini mengembalikan hukuman penjara 18 tahun kerana menyebabkan kematian Pegawai Kadet Laut Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain.
Malaysiakini | Six former UPNM students dodged the hangman’s noose over the 2017 death of a navy cadet officer. The Federal Court unanimously allowed the death sentence for murder to be set aside and substituted with 18 years’ imprisonment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Lawyers Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay and Lee Yee Woei represented two of the six appellants.
Free Malaysia Today | The Federal Court said the prosecution failed to prove the elements for murder beyond reasonable doubt against six former UPNM students for the death of Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, and restored the 18-year jail term imposed by the High Court. Two of the six appellants were represented by lawyers Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay and Lee Yee Woei.
The Irrawaddy | AICHR Chair Edmund Bon expressed support and empathy for Myanmar people in Malaysia, and urged them to make contact with relevant organisations during Malaysia’s tenure this year as Chair of ASEAN. He said that AICHR is looking at different platforms, workshops and initiatives to do what it can within the power and influence it has.
Khmer Times | Cambodia participated in the 40th AICHR meeting from 11 to 14 February 2025, represented by Pa Ponnarada from the Cambodian Human Rights Committee. The meeting was chaired by Edmund Bon Tai Soon, AICHR Chair for 2025.
Malay Mail | The Federal Court was told that the conviction and death sentence imposed on six former UPNM students for the murder of a navy cadet officer is unsafe and should be set aside. Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing two of the six, submitted that the prosecution failed to meet the required standard to secure the two convictions.
Free Malaysia Today | Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad told the Federal Court bench that the benefit of the doubt should be given to the accused, as there was conflicting evidence before the court in the trial of six ex-UPNM students convicted of murder. The court also heard that the trial was “tainted” as prosecution witnesses were coached into giving testimony against the accused.
AICHR | AICHR Chair Edmund Bon and Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn met and discussed Malaysia’s human rights priority areas for 2025: peace, environmental rights, sustainable development and inclusive growth. Edmund Bon also shared ideas on strengthening AICHR to enhance its work in mainstreaming and integrating human rights in ASEAN.
ASEAN | Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, met with the Chair of AICHR, Edmund Bon. They exchanged views on AICHR’s work in the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the region, and discussed collaboration in support of Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship priorities in 2025, under the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability”.
AICHR | The AICHR’s 40th meeting from 11 to 14 February 2025 was chaired by Edmund Bon, Chair of AICHR in 2025 and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR. He highlighted the ASEAN chairmanship theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability” and emphasised the need for an ASEAN-led, ASEAN-owned, and whole-of-ASEAN approach to advance peace, inclusive growth, and sustainable development.
Free Malaysia Today | The High Court held that the Peaceful Assembly Act did not allow the police to stop an assembly — the Malaysian Bar’s “walk for judicial independence” — from being held. New Sin Yew, the Bar’s lawyer, informed the court that the Bar was only demanding RM1 as nominal damages since the suit was being brought as a matter of principle.
Malay Mail | The High Court ruled that the police had acted ultra vires (beyond powers) to impose a condition that absolutely prohibited the Bar Council’s assembly and march, dubbed the Walk for Judicial Independence, in 2022. The suit was filed through Messrs AmerBON, and New Sin Yew acted for the Malaysian Bar.
New Straits Times | Malaysian Bar President Mohamed Ezri Abdul Wahab said that the High Court decision regarding the Bar Council’s march for judicial independence in 2022 reaffirmed the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and served as an important precedent in upholding constitutional freedoms. Lawyer New Sin Yew acted for the plaintiffs.
The Jakarta Post | There are high expectations that the rights of indigenous peoples in ASEAN will be strengthened in the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights, currently being discussed by AICHR under Malaysia’s chairmanship. Advocacy groups are looking to AICHR Chair Edmund Bon to ensure that the new declaration will be fully centred on these rights and on environmental protection.
The Edge Malaysia | The Court of Appeal substituted the High Court decision that acquitted former Aker Engineering Malaysia manager Ahmad Hatta Kamaruzzaman over a charge of giving false material information to SSM, with a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA). Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay, and Michael Cheah acted for Ahmad Hatta.
The Edge Malaysia | Amer Hamzah Arshad, who appeared with Joshua Tay and Lee Yee Woei for S. Nimalan, said that his client could not be found guilty of the murder of deputy public prosecutor Datuk Kevin Morais. At most, S. Nimalan could be involved in the offence of abduction or disposing of evidence.
Monash University | Edmund Bon, Chair of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR, encouraged the research team to make a formal submission of the research findings to AICHR and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).
Harian Metro | Mahkamah Rayuan mengembalikan keputusan Mahkamah Sesyen yang menjatuhkan hukuman penjara sehari dan denda berjumlah RM2.25 juta terhadap Amirruddin Nin, bekas pengarah CTB Solutions Sdn Bhd kerana gagal menghadiri siasatan oleh Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia. Peguam Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay H’ng Foong dan Lee Yee Woei mewakili Amirruddin.
New Straits Times | Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said no one emerged victorious in the case of six former UPNM students convicted for the death of a navy cadet officer. The six avoided the death penalty when the Federal Court upheld the High Court’s 18-year jail term for causing Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain’s death.
Malaysia Gazette | Pada 2 November 2021, Mahkamah Tinggi menjatuhkan hukuman penjara 18 tahun terhadap semua enam bekas pelajar UPNM itu, selepas mendapati mereka bersalah kerana menyebabkan kematian Zulfarhan tanpa niat membunuhnya.
Malaysia Gazette | Enam bekas penuntut UPNM terlepas hukuman gantung selepas Mahkamah Persekutuan hari ini mengembalikan hukuman penjara 18 tahun kerana menyebabkan kematian Pegawai Kadet Laut Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain.
Malaysiakini | Six former UPNM students dodged the hangman’s noose over the 2017 death of a navy cadet officer. The Federal Court unanimously allowed the death sentence for murder to be set aside and substituted with 18 years’ imprisonment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Lawyers Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay and Lee Yee Woei represented two of the six appellants.
Free Malaysia Today | The Federal Court said the prosecution failed to prove the elements for murder beyond reasonable doubt against six former UPNM students for the death of Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, and restored the 18-year jail term imposed by the High Court. Two of the six appellants were represented by lawyers Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay and Lee Yee Woei.
The Irrawaddy | AICHR Chair Edmund Bon expressed support and empathy for Myanmar people in Malaysia, and urged them to make contact with relevant organisations during Malaysia’s tenure this year as Chair of ASEAN. He said that AICHR is looking at different platforms, workshops and initiatives to do what it can within the power and influence it has.
Khmer Times | Cambodia participated in the 40th AICHR meeting from 11 to 14 February 2025, represented by Pa Ponnarada from the Cambodian Human Rights Committee. The meeting was chaired by Edmund Bon Tai Soon, AICHR Chair for 2025.
Malay Mail | The Federal Court was told that the conviction and death sentence imposed on six former UPNM students for the murder of a navy cadet officer is unsafe and should be set aside. Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing two of the six, submitted that the prosecution failed to meet the required standard to secure the two convictions.
Free Malaysia Today | Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad told the Federal Court bench that the benefit of the doubt should be given to the accused, as there was conflicting evidence before the court in the trial of six ex-UPNM students convicted of murder. The court also heard that the trial was “tainted” as prosecution witnesses were coached into giving testimony against the accused.
AICHR | AICHR Chair Edmund Bon and Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn met and discussed Malaysia’s human rights priority areas for 2025: peace, environmental rights, sustainable development and inclusive growth. Edmund Bon also shared ideas on strengthening AICHR to enhance its work in mainstreaming and integrating human rights in ASEAN.
ASEAN | Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, met with the Chair of AICHR, Edmund Bon. They exchanged views on AICHR’s work in the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the region, and discussed collaboration in support of Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship priorities in 2025, under the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability”.
AICHR | The AICHR’s 40th meeting from 11 to 14 February 2025 was chaired by Edmund Bon, Chair of AICHR in 2025 and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR. He highlighted the ASEAN chairmanship theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability” and emphasised the need for an ASEAN-led, ASEAN-owned, and whole-of-ASEAN approach to advance peace, inclusive growth, and sustainable development.
