Zaid: We need to get our young people to recognise the rights they have

© Malaysian Bar (Used with permission)
Contributed by Lai Chee Hoe

In conjunction with the Human Rights Debate 2008 organised by the Bar Council Human Rights Committee, an International Human Rights Day gala dinner was held at Modesto’s, Desa Sri Hartamas.

Lawyers and guests started to stream in at 7.00pm. The event started off with the welcome address by Andrew Khoo, the Co-Deputy Chair of the Human Rights Committee. Andrew brought along a bicycle wheel and voiced his disappointment over the recent arrests of members of Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT) by the police. He described human rights as a tyre covering and protecting the spokes and the frame of a wheel.

“You could ride the bicycle with a flat tyre but eventually you will damage the frame. Likewise if you ignore human rights, you undermine the basic structure of our country and you will eventually destroy it.”

The event continued with Bertrand-Xavier Asselin, the Second Secretary of the High Commission of Canada, saying a few words. The Gala dinner would not have been possible without the generous support of the High Commission of Canada.

The highlight of the night however was the inspiring keynote address delivered by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim. He started off his speech by emphasising that human rights are, in essence, the fundamental principles we need to live by as a civil and civilized society and to treat each other as human beings should – with dignity, with due regard to our status as equals and having the same rights :-

“We need to get our young people to recognise the rights they have. It is easy to lose or give up what one does not know one possesses. Malaysia’s diverse races and especially those from different economic class seem to have little appetite for common values. We focus more on our differences than on our similarities. For a country segmented by ethnicity and religion and having self doubt about its identity and heritage, a common bond is needed.”

Datuk Zaid reminded the audience that we must continue our efforts to defend and promote human rights in our society. He also urged the NGOs to launch a massive public campaign to create public awareness on human rights :-

“There must be widespread support for human rights if we want to see changes in our laws and public policy. This is why more public support for human rights is imperative and why leadership in state governments and at the Federal level should also support this initiative”

He ended his speech by thanking the Bar Council Human Rights Committee, the Bar Council, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), the National Human Rights Society (HAKAM), Irene Fernandez and Tenaganita and Sisters in Islam (SIS) for their continued fight for human rights of Malaysians. After his speech, Datuk Zaid graciously agreed to take questions from the audience and this lasted for about 30 minutes.

The Gala Dinner was attended by all the debaters, volunteers, sponsors, several representatives of the NGOs and members of the Malaysian Bar.