Joke of the day: Malaysia defends banning Israeli athletes because of "human rights"

From Star Online (Malaysia):

Malaysia prioritises human rights, says Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

That is the stand taken by the Youth and Sports Minister after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) stripped Malaysia of the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships.

He said that if hosting an international sporting event is more important than standing up for Palestinians, that means Malaysia has truly lost its moral compass.

"We would like to kindly remind the IPC that even Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported that the (Israeli prime minister Benjamin) Netanyahu government is an active perpetrator of war crimes.

"As the leader of Israel, he represents the collective will of the Israeli government. The Israeli state is the locus of their collective moral actions.

"Malaysia stands firmly with our decision on the ground of humanity and compassion for the Palestinian plight. We will not compromise," he said in a statement issued to the press on Sunday (Jan 27).

Since Rahman likes to quote Amnesty on the topic of human rights, here's what it says about Malaysia:

Freedom of expression
The government continued to harass, detain and prosecute critics through the use of restrictive laws such as the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act....

Freedom of movement
In July, the Court of Appeal ruled that the government has absolute discretion to bar any citizen from travelling abroad without needing to provide a reason. This ruling facilitated continued violations of the right to freedom of movement and the work of human rights defenders...

Freedoms of association and assembly
Human rights defenders and opposition parliamentarians continued to stand trial for participating in peaceful protests. ...

Indigenous Peoples’ rights
In January, following peaceful protests against logging licences granted by local authorities, 21 Indigenous human rights defenders from the Temiar people in the northern state of Kelantan were detained. Two journalists were also arrested. ....

Arbitrary arrests and detentions
Preventive detention laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) continued to be used to detain, prosecute and imprison people alleged to have committed security offences. ....

On 26 April, the Kuala Lumpur High Court sentenced Siti Noor Aishah to five years’ imprisonment for possession of 12 books, under a sweeping provision of the SOSMA prohibiting the possession, custody or control of any item associated with any terrorist group or the commission of a terrorist act. The books owned by Siti Noor Aishah had not been banned, which raised further concerns about the arbitrary nature of the law and the way it was applied.

Police and security forces
Impunity for deaths in custody and excessive use of force and firearms persisted. There were at least five deaths in custody during the year. ...

Death penalty
The death penalty continued to be retained as the mandatory punishment for offences including drug trafficking, murder and discharge of firearms with intent to kill or harm in certain circumstances....

Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people
Discrimination against LGBTI people continued both in law and practice. Section 377A of the Penal Code criminalizes consensual sexual relations between adult men.

Apparently Malaysia's concern for human rights doesn't extend to its own citizens.

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