A Democratic Action Party Malaysia (DAP) sponsored Statement of Solidarity by SOCDEM Asia on the recent political developments in Hong Kong, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia & Indonesia on 30 September 2014 at Manila, Philippines

As social democrats from Asia gather here in Manila, we want to express our concerns towards some deeply worrying regional political developments. We are committed to the universal values of democracy, justice and solidarity and aspire to the establishment of these values in our respective countries as well as globally. It is in this spirit that we are united in issuing the following expressions:

Solidarity with the people of Hong Kong

Pro- democracy protesters in Hong Kong (Pic from South China Morning Post)

First of all, we want to express our solidarity with the people of Hong Kong in the Occupy Central With Love and Peace movement. Tens of thousands have gathered in the past three days to express their discontent towards recent decision to renege on its earlier promise to respect the political autonomy and democratic aspirations of Hong Kong, which, upon its handover from the U.K. to China in 1997, received unequivocal guarantees that it would, among other things, enjoy fully democratic elections in 2017.

We condemn the police’s heavy-handed treatment against the demonstrators, who expressed their discontent and democratic aspirations by peaceful means. We equally express our concerns over reports of potential military intervention. Meanwhile, we acknowledge the current demonstration of restraint by the police.

We call upon all political actors to honour the promise of autonomy to Hong Kong as well as to refrain from using violence against the peaceful gathering of the people.

Indonesia’s political elites turned the clock backwards on democracy

We also express our deepest regrets towards the decision of the outgoing Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (Parliament) of the Republic of Indonesia last week to abolish direct local government election. The controversial and deeply unpopular decision was taken after the election of president-elect Joko Widodo, “Jokowi”, who was himself a product of local democracy; Jokowi was elected as the mayor of Solo in 2005, after the introduction of direct local election legislation, followed by his successful bid to become Jakarta’s governor in 2012. Both the outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and President-elect Joko Widodo have expressed their strong opposition towards the new law. Pro-democracy movements have dubbed the law as regressive, undoing the political reforms which Indonesia has achieved since the fall of General Suharto’s Orde Baru (New Order) regime. The abolishment of local and provincial elections signifies a grave threat to people’s power to directly elect their own leaders and instead, put the appointment of powerful local and regional leaders in the hands of the political elites.

With vast majority of Indonesians expressing support for direct local election in a recent survey, we call for the Indonesian government, its legislative arm as well as the judiciary to take actions necessary in reversing this anti-democratic development. This is in order for the positive developments born from the recent presidential elections to propel democracy to new heights in Indonesia.

Thailand must immediately return to free and fair elections to the Thai people and stop the suspension of civil rights

We also call upon General Prayuth Chan-ocha in his capacity as the military chief of the country who led the coup against a democratically elected government in May this year, to immediately return to free and fair general elections so that the people of Thailand will be granted suffrage after the suspension of democracy in the country following the coup.

The United Nations, early this month through its UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia (OHCHR), had expressed serious concern over the “deteriorating environment for human rights defenders”. Other international human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International as well as advocates of press freedom have also voiced out strongly against anti-democracy and anti-human rights measures of the military junta against civil society, the media and its own people.

Many are also alarmed by General Prayuth’s plan to single handedly and undemocratically design a new constitution before the general election. This will further impede democracy in the country, and we stand as democrats, in solidarity with the people of Thailand in calling for a swift return to the path of democracy.

Remove anti-democratic laws to facilitate transition towards democracy and political will to deal with ethnic strife in Myanmar

We express hope that Myanmar’s path towards political, social and economic progress will continue to unreservedly prosper. In reflection of the 2015 general elections, however, we are concerned that certain undemocratic clauses of the Myanmar constitution drafted during the long years of the military junta rule, such as the barring of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from contesting in the presidential election and the 25% parliamentary seats quota for the junta and allies of the junta, are still in place.
We call on the government to remove these clauses and other anti-democratic laws, as well as the withdrawal of the military from politics to facilitate a successful transition of Myanmar into a full-fledged democracy.

At the same time, we also call on the government and other leaders of Myanmar to exert more political will in resolving the ethnic strife in the country in accordance to the principles of human rights, universal equality and social justice, especially in relation to the plight of the minority Rohingya people of western Myanmar.

In Malaysia the freedom of political participation and affiliation must be guaranteed

Finally we express our grave concern towards actions of the Malaysian government, whose recent crackdown against opposition politicians, political activists as well as social and democratic commentators.

This is evident by the authorities’ increasing use of a draconian legislation, namely the 1948 Sedition Act as an instrument of political persecution by prosecution. According to Lawyers for Liberty, a local legal NGO, at least 25 sedition cases are now going through the judicial process. These include academics, members of the civil society as well as opposition politicians, the latest being Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Prime Minister Najib had earlier before the May 2013 general election promised that his government will abolish this law which contains prohibition against vague offenses such as “seditious words” as well as “seditious tendency” against the government. However, the law has been regularly used by the authorities to suppress views against the establishment. This is a clear effort to reintroduce governance from the dark ages to forcefully hold back modern enlightenment of the Malaysian people.
We call on the Malaysian government to respect and implement the universal values of human rights, especially the freedom of political participation and affiliation. Anti-democratic and draconian legislations such as the Sedition Act should have no place in any society today, whether in Malaysia or globally.

We make this statement with our hearts full of hope that social justice, universal equality, human rights can and will be upheld through solidarity amongst us all.