Scoop | As ASEAN and AICHR Chair for 2025, Malaysia stated its commitment to strengthening AICHR’s institutional framework by shifting towards a more protection-centric approach, enhancing transparency and accountability, and deepening collaboration with ASEAN sectoral bodies and dialogue partners. Malaysia also seeks to foster stronger engagement with civil society organisations.
The Malaysian Reserve | Malaysia is urging ASEAN member states to take a stronger, more unified stance on climate action as it assumes the regional bloc’s chairmanship this year, stating that climate change is not just an environmental issue but also closely linked to security, economic stability and regional wellbeing.
New Straits Times | Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said Malaysia has seen good progress and is working towards a consensus to have the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights signed during its chairmanship this year.
Malaysiakini | The ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights will set out guiding principles for ASEAN member states to respect, promote, protect, and fulfill both substantive and procedural environmental human rights. The document, which will be discussed by member states this month, has come a long way but it is widely viewed as a watered-down version, with inadequate representation of indigenous people.
Free Malaysia Today | The former Prime Minister is facing one charge of making seditious statements during the Nenggiri by-election campaign in Gua Musang, Kelantan, last year. Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad informed the court that the defence intends to file a reference application to question the validity of certain provisions in the Sedition Act 1948 at the Federal Court.
Malaysiakini | Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin seeks the Federal Court’s determination in order to challenge the validity of his sedition charge linked to the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Perikatan Nasional chairperson’s counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad said the case involved legal issues of “unusual” difficulty that needed to be ventilated by the apex court.
Malaysiakini | Lawyer New Sin Yew pointed out that under the Local Government Act, a public place refers to any open space that has been set apart for the use of the public, to which the public shall at any time have access and a common right. Hence, there is no requirement to obtain consent from DBKL for the anti-corruption rally to be held at Dataran Merdeka.
The Star | Bar Council member New Sin Yew advised victims of lawyers’ professional misconduct to lodge a police report immediately, seek legal advice on their rights and options, and file a complaint with the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board (ASDB), which operates independently of the Malaysian Bar and Bar Council.
The Edge Malaysia | At the inaugural Malaysian Human Rights and Environmental Rights Dialogue held in Wisma Putra on Thursday, Malaysia’s representative to the AICHR Edmund Bon addressed the rampant violation of human rights in Southeast Asia, and said Malaysia cannot support the continuation of the atrocities being committed around the world.
Bernama | The AICHR aims to address climate change through the proposed ASEAN Declaration on the Right to Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment. “We will begin examining, documenting, and finding an ASEAN common position on regional human-induced disasters and conflicts through the lens of human rights, accountability, reconciliation, and peace,” chair of the AICHR Edmund Bon said.
Bernama | AICHR menyasarkan untuk menangani hak pembangunan ekonomi, sosial, budaya dan politik serta kaitannya dengan perniagaan dan hak asasi manusia, kesaksamaan gender, perubahan iklim, dan pembangunan mampan. Pengerusi AICHR Edmund Bon berkata kepimpinan Malaysia di ASEAN memberikan peluang besar untuk meningkatkan standard hak asasi manusia di seluruh rantau ini.
Free Malaysia Today | Participants at the Malaysian Human Rights and Environmental Rights Dialogue at the foreign ministry, chaired by Edmund Bon, said Malaysia needs to prove its commitment to human and environmental rights at home before espousing it at ASEAN. Concerns included wrongful deportation, land and indigenous rights, and lack of consultation regarding the seed bill.
The Edge Malaysia | The inaugural Human Rights and Environmental Rights Dialogue convened by Malaysia’s Representative to AICHR in 2025, Edmund Bon, served as a key platform for Malaysia to engage stakeholders and reaffirm its commitment to advancing human and environmental rights across the region.
Malaysiakini | Malaysia’s chair of the AICHR, Edmund Bon, delivered a forceful critique of what he described as a growing “dilution” or willful blindness of international human rights law. “Within our ASEAN backyard and within the remit of what we can do while chairing ASEAN, we cannot support impunity,” he said.
Malaysiakini | Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Antara Kerajaan ASEAN mengenai Hak Asasi Manusia (AICHR) dari Malaysia, Edmund Bon, menyeru pendirian tegas terhadap pelanggaran hak asasi manusia, walaupun ini bermakna melanggar konvensyen dalam ASEAN. Sejak 2009, AICHR belum secara langsung menangani konflik bersenjata. Pendirian tegas Bon menawarkan platform untuk langkah ke hadapan.
The Washington Post | Southeast Asian countries are increasingly seeking to bypass formal extradition agreements and their protections. The country of origin would say they have a right to cancel the passport, according to Edmund Bon, the lawyer who acted on behalf of a Bangladeshi opposition activist arrested in Malaysia. By the time people try to appeal, they would already be on the plane.
Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia | Human Rights Day celebrations on 10 December 2024 was marked with the launch of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Handbook, which provides guidance on turning inclusion and equity into actionable practices. Representative of Malaysia to the AICHR, Edmund Bon, shared his thoughts on how DEI could transform workplaces in Malaysia in 2025.
Sinar Harian | Hakim Mahkamah Tinggi memutuskan bahawa pertuduhan terhadap Rosmah Mansur tidak mendedahkan unsur utama kesalahan untuk pengubahan wang haram dan urus niaga yang melibatkan pengubahan wang haram. Ketika hujahan, peguam Amer Hamzah berkata, 12 pertuduhan bawah AMLA dan lima kes bawah Akta Cukai Pendapatan adalah cacat, tidak berasas, dan pramatang.
Berita Harian | Peguam Amer Hamzah Arshad berkata, pendakwaan berhak mengemukakan rayuan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi. Selain Amer Hamzah, isteri bekas Perdana Menteri itu turut diwakili peguam Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, Mohamed Reza Abdul Rahim, Ravijan Nambiar, dan Joshua Tay.
New Malaysia Herald | Wife of former PM, Rosmah Mansor, was acquitted by the High Court of 17 money laundering and tax evasion charges, which her lawyers argued were defective and lacked essential elements. Her lawyers included Amer Hamzah Arshad.
Scoop | As ASEAN and AICHR Chair for 2025, Malaysia stated its commitment to strengthening AICHR’s institutional framework by shifting towards a more protection-centric approach, enhancing transparency and accountability, and deepening collaboration with ASEAN sectoral bodies and dialogue partners. Malaysia also seeks to foster stronger engagement with civil society organisations.
The Malaysian Reserve | Malaysia is urging ASEAN member states to take a stronger, more unified stance on climate action as it assumes the regional bloc’s chairmanship this year, stating that climate change is not just an environmental issue but also closely linked to security, economic stability and regional wellbeing.
New Straits Times | Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said Malaysia has seen good progress and is working towards a consensus to have the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights signed during its chairmanship this year.
Malaysiakini | The ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights will set out guiding principles for ASEAN member states to respect, promote, protect, and fulfill both substantive and procedural environmental human rights. The document, which will be discussed by member states this month, has come a long way but it is widely viewed as a watered-down version, with inadequate representation of indigenous people.
Free Malaysia Today | The former Prime Minister is facing one charge of making seditious statements during the Nenggiri by-election campaign in Gua Musang, Kelantan, last year. Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad informed the court that the defence intends to file a reference application to question the validity of certain provisions in the Sedition Act 1948 at the Federal Court.
Malaysiakini | Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin seeks the Federal Court’s determination in order to challenge the validity of his sedition charge linked to the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Perikatan Nasional chairperson’s counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad said the case involved legal issues of “unusual” difficulty that needed to be ventilated by the apex court.
Malaysiakini | Lawyer New Sin Yew pointed out that under the Local Government Act, a public place refers to any open space that has been set apart for the use of the public, to which the public shall at any time have access and a common right. Hence, there is no requirement to obtain consent from DBKL for the anti-corruption rally to be held at Dataran Merdeka.
The Star | Bar Council member New Sin Yew advised victims of lawyers’ professional misconduct to lodge a police report immediately, seek legal advice on their rights and options, and file a complaint with the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board (ASDB), which operates independently of the Malaysian Bar and Bar Council.
The Edge Malaysia | At the inaugural Malaysian Human Rights and Environmental Rights Dialogue held in Wisma Putra on Thursday, Malaysia’s representative to the AICHR Edmund Bon addressed the rampant violation of human rights in Southeast Asia, and said Malaysia cannot support the continuation of the atrocities being committed around the world.
Bernama | The AICHR aims to address climate change through the proposed ASEAN Declaration on the Right to Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment. “We will begin examining, documenting, and finding an ASEAN common position on regional human-induced disasters and conflicts through the lens of human rights, accountability, reconciliation, and peace,” chair of the AICHR Edmund Bon said.
Bernama | AICHR menyasarkan untuk menangani hak pembangunan ekonomi, sosial, budaya dan politik serta kaitannya dengan perniagaan dan hak asasi manusia, kesaksamaan gender, perubahan iklim, dan pembangunan mampan. Pengerusi AICHR Edmund Bon berkata kepimpinan Malaysia di ASEAN memberikan peluang besar untuk meningkatkan standard hak asasi manusia di seluruh rantau ini.
Free Malaysia Today | Participants at the Malaysian Human Rights and Environmental Rights Dialogue at the foreign ministry, chaired by Edmund Bon, said Malaysia needs to prove its commitment to human and environmental rights at home before espousing it at ASEAN. Concerns included wrongful deportation, land and indigenous rights, and lack of consultation regarding the seed bill.
The Edge Malaysia | The inaugural Human Rights and Environmental Rights Dialogue convened by Malaysia’s Representative to AICHR in 2025, Edmund Bon, served as a key platform for Malaysia to engage stakeholders and reaffirm its commitment to advancing human and environmental rights across the region.
Malaysiakini | Malaysia’s chair of the AICHR, Edmund Bon, delivered a forceful critique of what he described as a growing “dilution” or willful blindness of international human rights law. “Within our ASEAN backyard and within the remit of what we can do while chairing ASEAN, we cannot support impunity,” he said.
Malaysiakini | Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Antara Kerajaan ASEAN mengenai Hak Asasi Manusia (AICHR) dari Malaysia, Edmund Bon, menyeru pendirian tegas terhadap pelanggaran hak asasi manusia, walaupun ini bermakna melanggar konvensyen dalam ASEAN. Sejak 2009, AICHR belum secara langsung menangani konflik bersenjata. Pendirian tegas Bon menawarkan platform untuk langkah ke hadapan.
The Washington Post | Southeast Asian countries are increasingly seeking to bypass formal extradition agreements and their protections. The country of origin would say they have a right to cancel the passport, according to Edmund Bon, the lawyer who acted on behalf of a Bangladeshi opposition activist arrested in Malaysia. By the time people try to appeal, they would already be on the plane.
Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia | Human Rights Day celebrations on 10 December 2024 was marked with the launch of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Handbook, which provides guidance on turning inclusion and equity into actionable practices. Representative of Malaysia to the AICHR, Edmund Bon, shared his thoughts on how DEI could transform workplaces in Malaysia in 2025.
Sinar Harian | Hakim Mahkamah Tinggi memutuskan bahawa pertuduhan terhadap Rosmah Mansur tidak mendedahkan unsur utama kesalahan untuk pengubahan wang haram dan urus niaga yang melibatkan pengubahan wang haram. Ketika hujahan, peguam Amer Hamzah berkata, 12 pertuduhan bawah AMLA dan lima kes bawah Akta Cukai Pendapatan adalah cacat, tidak berasas, dan pramatang.
Berita Harian | Peguam Amer Hamzah Arshad berkata, pendakwaan berhak mengemukakan rayuan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi. Selain Amer Hamzah, isteri bekas Perdana Menteri itu turut diwakili peguam Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, Mohamed Reza Abdul Rahim, Ravijan Nambiar, dan Joshua Tay.
New Malaysia Herald | Wife of former PM, Rosmah Mansor, was acquitted by the High Court of 17 money laundering and tax evasion charges, which her lawyers argued were defective and lacked essential elements. Her lawyers included Amer Hamzah Arshad.
