Winners of the 2007 human rights award
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The joint winners received an award prize of RM1,500 and a trophy which is specially designed by renowned artist Wong Hoy Cheong. Wong has exhibited widely internationally including solo exhibitions/projects. He was a founding member when Suaram was formed in 1989. The concept behind the trophy, made of glass, is that it is "transparent", "fragile" and "heavy" — the very same adjectives for the qualities of glass can be used to describe human rights. The sphere in the centre represents perfection or a reflection of the globe, and the fact that the sphere changes its shape visually as the trophy is rotated suggests the transitory nature of perfection, while the vertical glass bars represent prison bars.
The winners were chosen based on their efforts in empowering its people, the significance of their struggle, and their persistence in their endeavours in defending their rights.
The Coalition Against Healthcare Privatisation was judged to be one of the joint winners based on its efforts and persistence in opposing further privatisation of the healthcare system in Malaysia. It has brought together NGOs, trade unions and political parties from across the board in its efforts to defend the right to healthcare for all. Thus far, the coalition has been able to stop the privatisation of government dispensaries and has halted the nationwide implementation of the "full paying scheme", which if implemented, would deny equitable access to adequate healthcare, especially for the poor. At the heart of its struggle lie the rights of the poor and the downtrodden to adequate healthcare and the right to life for all.
The other winner, Kampung Sungai Terentang of Rawang, has proven to have empowered its people, as could clearly be seen in the continuous efforts of the villagers to stop the installation of higher capacity high-tension transmission lines across the village. The installation of the cables could cause long-term health hazards to the villagers. The villagers have been persistent throughout the two years of its struggle, since their plight began in 2005, with efforts including numerous protests braving arrests by authorities; memoranda, letters and counter-proposals to the Parliament and several ministries, including to the Prime Minister. They have now brought their case to court. The plight of Kampung Sungai Terentang of Rawang is essentially a struggle to ensure the right to health, which would be compromised if the proposed installation of transmission lines is to proceed.
Both the winners' struggles involve the right to health, a basic and fundamental right. It is on this basis — the closely-related struggles of the two — that the judges found it fitting that this year's award be given jointly to the Coalition Against Healthcare Privatisation and Kampung Sungai Terentang of Rawang. The judges felt that this would provide a complete picture of the fundamental issue of right to health at both the macro and micro levels.
The panel of judges comprised of Dr Colin Nicholas, Dr Irene Fernandez, Ramdas Tikamdas, Amer Hamzah, Dr Toh Kin Woon, Dr Nasir Hashim, Irene Xavier and Maria Chin Abdullah.
