Even the Malaysia government received foreign
funding but nobody has accused it of being a 'foreign agent', argues
United Nations Special Rapporteur, Maina Kiai.
KUALA
LUMPUR: There is nothing wrong for non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) to receive foreign funding, United Nations Special Rapporteur on
the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Maina
Kiai, said today.
The prominent human rights activist and lawyer from Kenya said that
if governments and businesses can receive foreign funding, the same
standards should also be applied to NGOs or associations.
“If the work of an association demands funding, there should no
restriction about funding, whether domestic or international,” he said
at a forum here about international standards and practices in
exercising freedom of assembly and association.
“Just the same way government receive funding… I know Malaysia
received a lot of foreign funding in its early days, it should now be a
provider of funding. Nobody accused the government of being a
foreign agent,” he said.
foreign agent,” he said.
“The same standards that apply to the state, must also be extended to
NGOs or businesses. I can bet you that more than half of these
companies access foreign funding, that’s the way the world works, that’s
what globalisation is about…” he said.
Kiai said that people would not be able to exercise their fundamental right to freedom of associations without any funding.
However, he also reminded that there was also the duty for civil society to be accountable.
But, he added that such accountability must be independently done,
and not forced upon in a manner that restricts or controls the society.
“The demands to be accountable must be made by citizens, that’s what the
international law says,” he said.
The UN expert’s views come in the wake of recent public scrutiny over
the funding and organisational structure of a popular human rights
body, Suaram, since July.
Suaram’s “independence” was questioned after some quarters revealed
that it was consistently a recipient of annual allocations from the
US-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) organisation since 2006.
Foreign powers
Pro-establishment Malay rights groups demanded to know why Suaram was
registered as a company, Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd, with a paid-up
capital of RM2.
Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) and Perkasa have accused the NGO of
being funded by foreign powers to “destabilise the peace of the
country”.
The Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) then raided Suaram’s
offices and found that the company was suspected of having breached the
Companies Act 1965 for carrying out activities unrelated to the purpose
of its establishment as a business.
More recently, Germany’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Guenter Georg
Gruber, admitted to channelling funds to Suara Inisiatif to finance
specific project initiatives.
In response, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman asked for an explanation of
the funding, saying that it could be “seen as interference in the
domestic affairs of a sovereign state” because the Malaysian government
considers Suaram to be politically-biased.
Suaram has consistently denied any wrondoings and in defence, claim
that the timing of the checks were clearly “political” as the NGO has
been aggressively highlighting the suspected corruption in the Scorpene
scandal, which implicates Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong has revealed that Suaram receives money
from Finland, the United States, Canada and various state governments in
Malaysia, as well as donations from citizens.
He argues that Suaram was a registered company as the authorities
have traditionally made it difficult for vocal NGOs to be properly
registered as a society.
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