Ambiga Sreenevasan

Ambiga Sreenevasan (2009)

Ambiga Sreenevasan (* 1956 ) is a Malaysian lawyer and human rights activist . She is a former student of the Bukit Nanas Convent , a well-known girls' school in the heart of Kuala Lumpur . From 2007 to 2009 she was President of the Malaysian Bar Council , the professional association of Malay lawyers.

In 1982 Dato 'Dr. Ambiga founded the law firm Sreenevasan, Advocates & Solicitors and has been a practicing lawyer ever since. Dato 'Ambiga is currently an arbitrator in the Malay Bar Association. She is also a member of the Malaysian Intellectual Property Association, the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property, and the Asian Patent Attorneys Association.

She currently chairs the popular movement for free and fair elections, Bersih 2.0. She was also involved in drafting and presenting many memoranda on the rule of law, the judiciary, legal process, legal assistance, interreligious dialogue and many other human rights issues.

She completed her law degree at the University of Exeter in England. In July 2011, she received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater.

Honor

March 2009 was Ambiga Sreenevasan as one of eight women to the International Women of Courage Award , an award given annually by the State Department of the United States is awarded to women around the world, dealing with special courage for religious tolerance , civil rights and equality used the woman to have. At the award ceremony, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid tribute to the winner:

"Ambiga Sreenevasan has achieved remarkable things in Malaysia. She has promoted legal reforms and good governance, has advocated religious tolerance and has always been a staunch advocate of equal rights for women and their full political participation. She is a person who is not only in her own country, but whose influence can also be felt beyond the borders of Malaysia. It is a great honor for me to pay tribute to her and to invite her to the podium. "

Commitment to religious tolerance

Ambiga Sreenevasan has been committed to promoting religious freedom in Malaysia for many years . Among other things, she was the lawyer for Lina Joy, a Muslim woman who wanted to convert to the Christian faith. She argued that Article 121 (1A) of the Malay Basic Law does not withhold religious freedom from Muslims. Some Muslim associations then accused her of challenging Sharia law, an accusation that can weigh heavily in some Muslim countries.

In her role as President of the Malaysian Bar Council, Ambiga accepted a memorandum setting up an interfaith commission in which 14 demands were made. She also held a forum on Article 121 (1A) of the Malay Basic Law, which deals with Sharia law and the right of Muslims to religious freedom. This forum was met with major protests from conservative Muslims.

Bersih 2.0

Ambiga Sreenevasan is the leader of the protest movement ' Bersih 2.0' (Cleanliness 2.0). This group calls on the Malay Electoral Commission to guarantee clean and free elections. Past elections in Malaysia were often overshadowed by allegations of fraud. The Commission therefore calls for a. the revision of the electoral roll, a reform of the postal voting rights, the use of indelible ink, the extension of the time for election campaigns to at least 21 days and the equal access of all political parties to the media.

Bersih's demands have been dismissed several times by the electoral commission, which describes the organization as the pawn of the country's political opposition. The deputy chairman of the electoral commission, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, accused the initiative of "wanting to overthrow the legitimate government." On the other hand, Ambiga criticized the behavior of the electoral commission and urged it to be more politically independent.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Presidents' Roll . Malaysian Bar. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
2. ^ Remarks by Clinton on International Women of Courage Awards . US Department of State. March 11, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 21, 2011. 
3. ^ Remarks by Clinton on International Women of Courage Awards . In: America.gov . March 11. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 2, 2009. 
4. ↑ Perarakan haram, baik cegah sebelum merebak, Oleh Manja Ismail
5. ↑ Malays should know who Ambiga is, say analysts. June 26, 2011 ( Memento of the original from June 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Stephanie Sta Maria: EC: Bersih intends to overthrow govt . In: Free Malaysia Today , June 30, 2011. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  
7. ↑ Hong Chieh Yow: Ambiga tells EC to remain neutral . In: The Malaysian Insider , June 30th, 2011. Archived from the original on July 1st, 2011 Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .