National High-Level Dialogue on Business and Human Rights

At the National High-Level Dialogue on Business and Human Rights, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Liew Vui Keong, reiterated the government’s policy commitment to initiate the development of Malaysia’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP BHR).

For at least three years now, Prof Dr Aishah Bidin (then Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia [SUHAKAM] and with the National University of Malaysia [UKM] Faculty of Law), Dr Andika Wahab (now with the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies [IKMAS]) and I (then Representative of Malaysia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights [AICHR]) have been working on this agenda, at times behind the scenes and on the quiet, to assist the government.

It was therefore exciting to have been able to present our proposed strategic roadmap regarding the development process and recommendations. Thank you to the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU) and SUHAKAM for the opportunity. The Government must now decide on its next steps.

We are hopeful that the good start yesterday will end in a progressive and effective NAP BHR for Malaysia, which will be a model for other countries in terms of both the process Malaysia used and the substance we adopted.