In Malaysia, political survival is more important than human rights, according to an international lawyer's group.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s heavy-handed crackdown on Bersih 2.0 (Coalition for Free and Fair Elections) indicates its disdain for human rights, an international lawyers’ group said.

Lawasia president Lester Huang condemned the arrests surrounding the July 9 rally and alleged that there was police brutality on the day itself.

“It defies any understanding that any government which claims to support the democratic process can maintain credibility among voters,” he said in a press statement.

Huang said that the government of the day appeared to make political survival a priority instead of adhering to the country’s “democratic principles”.

He pointed out that the authorities appeared to adopt “haphazard” crowd control methods, which included an “indiscriminate” use of tear gas and water cannons.

Malaysia, Huang added, did not seem to follow the “United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials”, which it adopted in 1990

Police were alleged to have fired tear gas canisters directly into crowds of protesters during the July 9 rally in Kuala Lumpur.

There also appeared to be little restraint employed by the authorities in dispersing Bersih supporters on that day.

In one instance, the Tung Shin Maternity Hospital was targeted by water cannons, with tear gas trailing into the compound.

The police have, however, defended their seemingly aggressive position on that day, attributing it to standard operating procedure.

Huang, however, did not appear to be convinced, and noted the continued harassment by the authorities, particularly against people wearing Bersih T-shirts.

He said that Malaysia needed to be more mindful over the rights of its citizens, and had to take its regional role more seriously.

“It is of profound regret to the regional legal community that the reaction to the Bersih movement sees these principles cast aside.”

“Actions of this sort in any country will always deserve the strongest criticism from the legal community on both legal and humanitarian grounds,” Huang said, adding that Malaysia’s membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council was called into question.