HDFF | Under Malaysia’s chairmanship and leadership of Edmund Bon, AICHR has proposed a roadmap for legally binding human rights conventions by 2030. But the region’s longstanding legal and political culture raises significant questions: Can ASEAN turn Southeast Asia’s ‘soft law’ human rights regime into a rules-based legal order? And if so, at what cost?
The Edge Malaysia | The Court of Appeal ruled that the Election Commission was wrong in barring K Tamileswaraan from voting in the Johor state elections in 2022 because he had COVID-19. Counsel New Sin Yew, representing Tamileswaraan, said this is a groundbreaking decision.
AICHR | On 1 July 2025, AICHR launched a report on its thematic study on the right to peace. On 2 July 2025, it conducted the “Building Peace — From Conflict Prevention to Sustainable Peace” workshop, the first in a series of six themed “Workshops on Intersection between Conflict and Human Rights: Pathways and Approaches to Peace in ASEAN”.
AICHR | AICHR held a regional consultation from 30 June to 1 July 2025 aimed at identifying best practices and challenges in promoting gender-responsive business conduct while exploring pathways towards an ASEAN approach on gender lens integration in business and human rights matters.
BFM | Edmund Bon, AICHR Chair and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR, shares an update on a proposed legally binding human rights resolution targeted for adoption within five years. He also discusses two key declarations on the environment and on peace that are expected to be adopted at the 47th ASEAN Summit.
AICHR | Participants at AICHR’s Regional Dialogue on Responsible Business and Migration in ASEAN encouraged the Commission to explore its role further in promoting responsible business conduct and labour standards in the context of migration.
Scoop | New ASEAN declarations on human rights, while not legally binding, are designed as powerful tools for legal advocacy that can be used in court, said AICHR Chair Edmund Bon. They serve a dual purpose, providing civil society groups with a “moral imperative” for advocacy while also giving lawyers a new standard to reference in legal arguments.
Free Malaysia Today | AICHR is set to propose that ASEAN adopt legally binding human rights instruments across Southeast Asia within the next five years. Edmund Bon, AICHR Chair and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR, said the move aims to address the absence of enforceable regional agreements comparable to the UN’s international human rights conventions.
AICHR | At the inaugural Interface Meeting between AICHR and New Zealand on 9 July 2025, potential areas of collaboration were discussed, particularly in capacity building, technical assistance, and knowledge-sharing on a wide range of human rights thematic areas, including gender equality, online safety, business and human rights, and effective access to remedies.
Scoop | AICHR chairman Edmund Bon said Malaysia has nothing to fear in signing the Rome Statute. The Representative of Malaysia to AICHR added that doing so would not undermine the position or powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Conference of Rulers.
Berita Harian | Peguam kanan, Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, khuatir Perjanjian Pendakwaan Tertunda (DPA) boleh menjadi ‘jalan mudah’ golongan kaya dan kenamaan daripada disabitkan kesalahan jenayah. Katanya, DPA hanya boleh dianggap wajar jika dilaksanakan dengan penuh ketelusan dan kawal selia yang ketat.
Scoop | AICHR Chair Edmund Bon stated that ASEAN’s non-interference principle prevents the bloc from intervening until a crisis spills over into wider regional instability. He added that some diplomats are reluctant to create formal mechanisms because they fear it could backfire in their own countries.
The Malaysian Reserve | AICHR Chair Edmund Bon said the commission is currently developing a declaration on the environment, and a declaration on development and peace. The two declarations are built on the principles of protecting and empowering vulnerable and indigenous groups, as well as women, youth, and children.
BFM | Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla has filed a lawsuit under Section 160B for the Malay translation of the Federal Constitution to prevail over the English version and be recognised as authoritative text. Listen to Haniff himself, and lawyer New Sin Yew, speak on this matter.
New Straits Times | The RM169 million forfeiture proceedings linked to former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob are scheduled to be heard at the Sessions Court this October. Lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Ismail, said the respondents have requested three weeks to file their affidavits.
Malay Mail | The Sessions Court here today set Oct 1 to hear the MACC’s application to forfeit over RM169 million in cash allegedly belonging to former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Ismail, informed the court that more time was needed to respond to the application.
Sinar Harian | Mahkamah Sesyen menetapkan 1 Oktober untuk mendengar permohonan SPRM bagi melucutkan hak wang tunai melebihi RM169 juta yang didakwa milik bekas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Peguam Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad yang mewakili Ismail memaklumkan pihaknya memerlukan masa untuk menjawab permohonan tersebut.
Bernama | Lawyer Michael Cheah of AmerBON, Advocates blamed the lack of inter-agency coordination for delays in PERKESO providing assistance for injured or deceased migrant workers. He said that government agencies tend to operate in silos, and there is no integration between the agencies.
Malaysiakini | For the first time in its history, AICHR is poised to institutionalise a formal mechanism to receive, respond to, and follow up on human rights complaints. Edmund Bon, Malaysia’s Representative to AICHR and current Chair, said this represents a shift from previously informal and opaque processes. The plan is being finalised for implementation in 2026.
Malaysiakini | Peguam aktivis New Sin Yew menegaskan pelantikan tertinggi kehakiman terkini tidak menyelesaikan masalah sedia ada yang membolehkan eksekutif campur tangan dalam pelantikan kehakiman. Menurutnya, masih tiada penjelasan mengapa syor JAC tidak dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan sehingga menyebabkan kekosongan jawatan.
HDFF | Under Malaysia’s chairmanship and leadership of Edmund Bon, AICHR has proposed a roadmap for legally binding human rights conventions by 2030. But the region’s longstanding legal and political culture raises significant questions: Can ASEAN turn Southeast Asia’s ‘soft law’ human rights regime into a rules-based legal order? And if so, at what cost?
The Edge Malaysia | The Court of Appeal ruled that the Election Commission was wrong in barring K Tamileswaraan from voting in the Johor state elections in 2022 because he had COVID-19. Counsel New Sin Yew, representing Tamileswaraan, said this is a groundbreaking decision.
AICHR | On 1 July 2025, AICHR launched a report on its thematic study on the right to peace. On 2 July 2025, it conducted the “Building Peace — From Conflict Prevention to Sustainable Peace” workshop, the first in a series of six themed “Workshops on Intersection between Conflict and Human Rights: Pathways and Approaches to Peace in ASEAN”.
AICHR | AICHR held a regional consultation from 30 June to 1 July 2025 aimed at identifying best practices and challenges in promoting gender-responsive business conduct while exploring pathways towards an ASEAN approach on gender lens integration in business and human rights matters.
BFM | Edmund Bon, AICHR Chair and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR, shares an update on a proposed legally binding human rights resolution targeted for adoption within five years. He also discusses two key declarations on the environment and on peace that are expected to be adopted at the 47th ASEAN Summit.
AICHR | Participants at AICHR’s Regional Dialogue on Responsible Business and Migration in ASEAN encouraged the Commission to explore its role further in promoting responsible business conduct and labour standards in the context of migration.
Scoop | New ASEAN declarations on human rights, while not legally binding, are designed as powerful tools for legal advocacy that can be used in court, said AICHR Chair Edmund Bon. They serve a dual purpose, providing civil society groups with a “moral imperative” for advocacy while also giving lawyers a new standard to reference in legal arguments.
Free Malaysia Today | AICHR is set to propose that ASEAN adopt legally binding human rights instruments across Southeast Asia within the next five years. Edmund Bon, AICHR Chair and Representative of Malaysia to AICHR, said the move aims to address the absence of enforceable regional agreements comparable to the UN’s international human rights conventions.
AICHR | At the inaugural Interface Meeting between AICHR and New Zealand on 9 July 2025, potential areas of collaboration were discussed, particularly in capacity building, technical assistance, and knowledge-sharing on a wide range of human rights thematic areas, including gender equality, online safety, business and human rights, and effective access to remedies.
Scoop | AICHR chairman Edmund Bon said Malaysia has nothing to fear in signing the Rome Statute. The Representative of Malaysia to AICHR added that doing so would not undermine the position or powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Conference of Rulers.
Berita Harian | Peguam kanan, Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, khuatir Perjanjian Pendakwaan Tertunda (DPA) boleh menjadi ‘jalan mudah’ golongan kaya dan kenamaan daripada disabitkan kesalahan jenayah. Katanya, DPA hanya boleh dianggap wajar jika dilaksanakan dengan penuh ketelusan dan kawal selia yang ketat.
Scoop | AICHR Chair Edmund Bon stated that ASEAN’s non-interference principle prevents the bloc from intervening until a crisis spills over into wider regional instability. He added that some diplomats are reluctant to create formal mechanisms because they fear it could backfire in their own countries.
The Malaysian Reserve | AICHR Chair Edmund Bon said the commission is currently developing a declaration on the environment, and a declaration on development and peace. The two declarations are built on the principles of protecting and empowering vulnerable and indigenous groups, as well as women, youth, and children.
BFM | Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla has filed a lawsuit under Section 160B for the Malay translation of the Federal Constitution to prevail over the English version and be recognised as authoritative text. Listen to Haniff himself, and lawyer New Sin Yew, speak on this matter.
New Straits Times | The RM169 million forfeiture proceedings linked to former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob are scheduled to be heard at the Sessions Court this October. Lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Ismail, said the respondents have requested three weeks to file their affidavits.
Malay Mail | The Sessions Court here today set Oct 1 to hear the MACC’s application to forfeit over RM169 million in cash allegedly belonging to former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Ismail, informed the court that more time was needed to respond to the application.
Sinar Harian | Mahkamah Sesyen menetapkan 1 Oktober untuk mendengar permohonan SPRM bagi melucutkan hak wang tunai melebihi RM169 juta yang didakwa milik bekas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Peguam Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad yang mewakili Ismail memaklumkan pihaknya memerlukan masa untuk menjawab permohonan tersebut.
Bernama | Lawyer Michael Cheah of AmerBON, Advocates blamed the lack of inter-agency coordination for delays in PERKESO providing assistance for injured or deceased migrant workers. He said that government agencies tend to operate in silos, and there is no integration between the agencies.
Malaysiakini | For the first time in its history, AICHR is poised to institutionalise a formal mechanism to receive, respond to, and follow up on human rights complaints. Edmund Bon, Malaysia’s Representative to AICHR and current Chair, said this represents a shift from previously informal and opaque processes. The plan is being finalised for implementation in 2026.
Malaysiakini | Peguam aktivis New Sin Yew menegaskan pelantikan tertinggi kehakiman terkini tidak menyelesaikan masalah sedia ada yang membolehkan eksekutif campur tangan dalam pelantikan kehakiman. Menurutnya, masih tiada penjelasan mengapa syor JAC tidak dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan sehingga menyebabkan kekosongan jawatan.
