KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) wants the people of this country, especially the rural community, to be more aware of issues related to human rights.
Its chairman Tan Sri Othman Hashim said it was important to ensure the wellbeing of the rural community to be taken into consideration too.
“Based on several segments we have found that the urban community is more aware and sensitive of their human rights compared to the rural people. This gap should not exist because human rights and freedoms apply to all human being,” he said.
He said this to Bernama after launching a Suhakam programme with the community at the state Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) office here yesterday.
The programme attended by about 100 fishermen aimed to raise awareness among the grassroots community about human rights and the commission’s function as well as to provide an opportunity for the community to raise their concerns on issues related to human rights.
Othman said human rights awareness is important in order to ensure that it is respected and protected.
“Thus, Suhakam will be meeting the grassroots communities throughout the year to reach out to them, especially in the rural area, to provide exposure on this subject matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the independent body is also in the process of collecting complaints and concerns of the fishermen community over their rights to be brought to the government so that appropriate action could be taken.
He explained that, so far, among the complaints they received from the fishermen were issues related to the effect of reclamation projects, intrusions from the foreign fishermen, pollution and diesel subsidies. – Bernama