Excellencies.
Malaysia extends our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the people of Thailand on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother of Thailand, who passed away on 24 October 2025, at the age of 93.
Malaysia also extends our thoughts and prayers to the people of the Philippines and Viet Nam and all those impacted by the recent typhoons. The loss of lives and the profound suffering of communities in the wake of these natural disasters weigh heavily on us.
I take this opportunity to congratulate Timor-Leste on its historic accession to ASEAN as a full member. We look forward to working with you, learning from you, and collaborating with you to promote and protect human rights in the region. We also hope Timor-Leste will actively participate in this Commission.
Right now, the ASEAN countries on the United Nations Human Rights Council are Indonesia (2024 to 2026), Thailand (2025 to 2027) and Viet Nam (2023 to 2025; and re-elected for 2026 to 2028). Congratulations to Viet Nam on your re-election. Malaysia supports the leadership of fellow ASEAN Member States on the Council, namely Indonesia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. We encourage you to share your insights and experiences with the Council at AICHR so we can learn more and advance our common positions on human rights.
Malaysia is delighted with the adoption of two ASEAN human rights instruments at the 47th ASEAN Summit held from 26 to 28 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur — the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, and ASEAN Declaration on Promoting the Right to Development and the Right to Peace Towards Realising Inclusive and Sustainable Development — and supports the development of follow-up actions to realise the declarations effectively through an inclusive and sustainable process. I thank all of you at AICHR and your respective governments for supporting the declarations and the process we took throughout this year during Malaysia’s chairship.
Malaysia continues to take steps to promote and protect human rights, guided this year under our ASEAN theme of inclusivity and sustainability.
First, our national budget for 2026, announced on 10 October 2025, focuses on rights-based budgeting, inclusive growth, social protection for our people, and long-term structural reform. Targeted subsidies, expanded cash-aid programmes, strengthened disaster management and preparedness, and extended social protection coverage to gig workers were also introduced. In addition, the carbon tax will be phased in starting next year, initially focusing on the iron, steel, and energy sectors, and will be aligned with the forthcoming national climate change legislation.
Second, a proposal to abolish the death penalty is currently being studied. The government will establish a working group of relevant stakeholders, including government officials, legal experts, and non-governmental representatives, and work will start in January 2026. This is to ensure that any decision taken by the government will be evidence-based, inclusive, and transparent.
As the Representative of Malaysia, I am worried about the current situation of human rights. As we witness escalating regional and global tensions and tragedies, I reaffirm my country’s position on the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan and in the face of mounting international evidence of genocide. I urge all States and relevant actors to use all available and appropriate measures, political, economic, and diplomatic, to press for immediate, full, and sustained cessation of hostilities, unimpeded humanitarian access, accountability for violations of international law, and the protection of civilians.
Regarding the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, I continue to call for a de-escalation of hostilities, the effective protection of civilians, and full respect for international humanitarian and human rights law to achieve lasting, durable peace. While we welcome the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord at the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit, the situation remains fragile. My view is that not only should humanitarian assistance be provided to displaced civilians, but a human rights-needs assessment should also be conducted in parallel to convening inclusive and meaningful dialogues between affected communities. Malaysia stands prepared to support ASEAN, Cambodia and Thailand on this as needed. We are also confident that the goodwill demonstrated by both Cambodia and Thailand will result in the full and effective implementation of the ceasefire arrangements, including the deployment of the ASEAN observer team that could include AICHR and relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies.
Concerning Myanmar, following the recent ASEAN Leaders’ Review and Decision on the Implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) on 26 October 2025, Malaysia expresses deep concern over the escalation of conflicts and the humanitarian situation in Myanmar, and urges expedited progress on the 5PC. We denounce the continued acts of violence against civilians, public facilities, and civilian infrastructures, and urge all parties involved to take concrete action to immediately halt indiscriminate violence, exercise utmost restraint, ensure the protection and safety of all civilians and civilian infrastructures, and create a conducive environment for the safe, unimpeded and non-discriminatory delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogue. The ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on an Extended and Expanded Ceasefire in Myanmar, adopted at the 46th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on 27 May 2025, must be fully implemented.
Malaysia reaffirms our commitment to continuing the sustainable strategies and approaches to help the people of Myanmar find an inclusive and durable peaceful resolution that will also allow refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in Malaysia to return home. Given the current state of play in Myanmar, and as long as the planned elections are not conducted inclusively, fairly, and transparently, it would be difficult for us to recognise the election results, if any.
Finally, and in light of what I have said, I commit to working with all of you in AICHR to assist ASEAN in translating our commitments into action to deliver tangible and meaningful outcomes. AICHR must stand as a beacon of human rights, hope, and peace for the peoples of ASEAN.
This statement was delivered to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) on Agenda Item No. 13.1 on Recent Developments in ASEAN on 14 November 2025, at the Special Meeting 4/2025 of AICHR held in Melaka, Malaysia from 10 to 14 November 2025. The press release on the Special Meeting 4/2025 can be accessed here.
