Ambiga Sreenevasan
Encyclopedia
Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan (born 1956) is a Malaysian lawyer who served as the President of the Malaysian Bar Council from 2007 to 2009. She is a former student of Convent Bukit Nanas and served as the Head Prefect in 1975.
Dato’ Ambiga has been a practising Advocate and Solicitor since March 1982. She is a founding partner of Sreenevasan, Advocates & Solicitors.
She was also a panelist of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration under the Malaysian Network Information Centre Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“MYDRP”) from 2006–2009. She was Chairperson of the Intellectual Property Sub-Committee of the Bar Council from September 2005 – March 2006. She was the Vice President of the Malaysian Intellectual Property Association in 2002.
Currently, Dato’ Dr. Ambiga is a Mediator on the Panel of the Bar Council, Malaysian Mediation Centre. She is also Co-chairperson of the Bar Council Committee on Orang Asli Rights and a member of the Executive Committee of the Women’s Aid Organisation. She is a member of the Malaysian Intellectual Property Association, the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), as well as the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APPA). She also heads Bersih 2.0, a citizen’s movement for free and fair elections. She is a Director of the Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Centre. She has been involved in the drafting and presenting of several papers and memoranda on issues relating to the rule of law, the judiciary, the administration of justice, legal aid, religious conversion and other human rights issues.
Dato’ Dr. Ambiga holds a LLB (Hons) from the University of Exeter
, England. In July 2011, She was conferred honorary doctorate in law by University of Exeter.
She was one of eight recipients of the US Secretary of State “International Women of Courage” Award in 2009.
. In the ceremony, the United States Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton commented:
In July 2011, Ambiga was conferred an honorary doctorate in law by her alma mater University of Exeter. She contributed services to her profession as a lawyer as Ambiga had been vocal during her two-year term as the Malaysian Bar president from 2007 to 2009. She has played an active role in other sectors of the legal profession for almost 30 years including as a member of the Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Centre and speaking out on Malaysian intellectual property protection.
Marc Barety, the ambassador of France to Malaysia, granted the Legion of Honour insignia to Ambiga in 23 September 2011. She was recognised for her contributions to the human rights defense.
in her apostasy case. Ambiga has argued that Article 121(1A) of the Constitution of Malaysia
does not deprive Muslims from equality and freedom of religion. All Muslim groups accuse her of disputing Syariah law.
Acting in her capacity as President of the Malaysian Bar Council, Ambiga accepted a memorandum on the formation of an inter-faith commission, which also made 14 demands. Ambiga further held a forum on Article 121(1A) concerning syariah law and the rights of Muslims for freedom of religion, despite objections from conservative Muslim groups.
Dato’ Ambiga has also consistently supported the rule of law during her tenure, condemning the politically-motivated arrests of two journalists, and the government’s banning of an ethnic Indian activist group and arrest of its members.
Dato’ Ambiga’s most controversial work is in the areas of religious freedom and women’s rights. She has assertively confronted sexism in Parliament, taking her case directly to the public when necessary. “Gender equality is a responsibility of all Malaysians,” she wrote in a press release that protested a politician’s patronizing remarks. She successfully fought to amend Malaysia’s Federal Constitution to ensure that women’s testimony would carry equal weight to men’s in Shari’a courts. She continues to fight for the religious freedom of women who convert to Islam upon marriage. Under current law, these women are not allowed to return to their original religions on dissolution of the marriage, regardless of the reason for its termination.
As a result of her attempts to find legal solutions to issues that continue to generate inter-ethnic tensions and constitutional problems, Dato’Ambiga has received hate mail, death threats, and had a Molotov cocktail thrown at her house. Hundreds of people from religious groups and conservative members of government have protested at the Bar Council building and called for her arrest.
As President of the Malaysian Bar she played a significant role in the establishing of a panel of eminent persons, together with LAWASIA, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and Transparency International-Malaysia in the year 2008. This panel reviewed the judicial crisis of 1988 and issued a report which was the first of its kind, setting an important precedent for organisations to establish their own panel inquiring into abuses of power.
2.0, the organisation behind the July 2011 rally
in Kuala Lumpur which drew 20,000 people. She summed up the main issues raised by Bersih as "unhappiness... in the Sarawak [election
], unhappiness about corruption, [and] unhappiness about the independence of our institutions." She said demands made during the first rally in 2007 have not been addressed, hence the follow-up rally.
Ambiga later said the rally "exploded many myths" in Malaysia, including the notion that people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds could not work together and that the middle class was "too comfortable to step up to the plate."
Dato’ Ambiga has been a practising Advocate and Solicitor since March 1982. She is a founding partner of Sreenevasan, Advocates & Solicitors.
She was also a panelist of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration under the Malaysian Network Information Centre Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“MYDRP”) from 2006–2009. She was Chairperson of the Intellectual Property Sub-Committee of the Bar Council from September 2005 – March 2006. She was the Vice President of the Malaysian Intellectual Property Association in 2002.
Currently, Dato’ Dr. Ambiga is a Mediator on the Panel of the Bar Council, Malaysian Mediation Centre. She is also Co-chairperson of the Bar Council Committee on Orang Asli Rights and a member of the Executive Committee of the Women’s Aid Organisation. She is a member of the Malaysian Intellectual Property Association, the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), as well as the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APPA). She also heads Bersih 2.0, a citizen’s movement for free and fair elections. She is a Director of the Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Centre. She has been involved in the drafting and presenting of several papers and memoranda on issues relating to the rule of law, the judiciary, the administration of justice, legal aid, religious conversion and other human rights issues.
Dato’ Dr. Ambiga holds a LLB (Hons) from the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
, England. In July 2011, She was conferred honorary doctorate in law by University of Exeter.
She was one of eight recipients of the US Secretary of State “International Women of Courage” Award in 2009.
Awards
In March 2009, Ambiga became one of the eight recipients of the 2009 Secretary of State's International Women of Courage AwardInternational Women of Courage Award
The International Women of Courage Award is awarded annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness and willingness to sacrifice for others, especially for better promotion of women's rights. The award was founded by...
. In the ceremony, the United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Clinton commented:
In July 2011, Ambiga was conferred an honorary doctorate in law by her alma mater University of Exeter. She contributed services to her profession as a lawyer as Ambiga had been vocal during her two-year term as the Malaysian Bar president from 2007 to 2009. She has played an active role in other sectors of the legal profession for almost 30 years including as a member of the Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Centre and speaking out on Malaysian intellectual property protection.
Marc Barety, the ambassador of France to Malaysia, granted the Legion of Honour insignia to Ambiga in 23 September 2011. She was recognised for her contributions to the human rights defense.
Religious equality
Ambiga Sreenevasan has stood up for religious tolerance and was the lawyer for Lina JoyLina Joy
Lina Joy is a Malay convert from Islam to Christianity. Born Azlina Jailani in 1964 in Malaysia to Muslim parents of Javanese descent, she converted at age 26. In 1998, she was baptized, and applied to have her conversion legally recognized by the Malaysian courts...
in her apostasy case. Ambiga has argued that Article 121(1A) of the Constitution of Malaysia
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the Federation...
does not deprive Muslims from equality and freedom of religion. All Muslim groups accuse her of disputing Syariah law.
Acting in her capacity as President of the Malaysian Bar Council, Ambiga accepted a memorandum on the formation of an inter-faith commission, which also made 14 demands. Ambiga further held a forum on Article 121(1A) concerning syariah law and the rights of Muslims for freedom of religion, despite objections from conservative Muslim groups.
Role as Malaysian Bar Council President 2007 - 2009
Elected in March, 2007, Dato’ Ambiga is the second female Bar Council president in that organization’s history. Six months after assuming her leadership, she organized the “March for Justice,” in Malaysia’s administrative capital, calling for judicial reform and investigation of a tape allegedly showing a key lawyer fixing judicial appointments and judges’ case assignments. Her public actions, and an intense lobbying campaign, led to a Royal Commission and a finding of need for corrective action.Dato’ Ambiga has also consistently supported the rule of law during her tenure, condemning the politically-motivated arrests of two journalists, and the government’s banning of an ethnic Indian activist group and arrest of its members.
Dato’ Ambiga’s most controversial work is in the areas of religious freedom and women’s rights. She has assertively confronted sexism in Parliament, taking her case directly to the public when necessary. “Gender equality is a responsibility of all Malaysians,” she wrote in a press release that protested a politician’s patronizing remarks. She successfully fought to amend Malaysia’s Federal Constitution to ensure that women’s testimony would carry equal weight to men’s in Shari’a courts. She continues to fight for the religious freedom of women who convert to Islam upon marriage. Under current law, these women are not allowed to return to their original religions on dissolution of the marriage, regardless of the reason for its termination.
As a result of her attempts to find legal solutions to issues that continue to generate inter-ethnic tensions and constitutional problems, Dato’Ambiga has received hate mail, death threats, and had a Molotov cocktail thrown at her house. Hundreds of people from religious groups and conservative members of government have protested at the Bar Council building and called for her arrest.
As President of the Malaysian Bar she played a significant role in the establishing of a panel of eminent persons, together with LAWASIA, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and Transparency International-Malaysia in the year 2008. This panel reviewed the judicial crisis of 1988 and issued a report which was the first of its kind, setting an important precedent for organisations to establish their own panel inquiring into abuses of power.
Bersih 2.0 rally
Ambiga chaired BersihBersih
The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections or Bersih is a coalition of non-governmental organisations with the aim of revising the current electoral system to ensure fair elections in Malaysia.-2007 Bersih rally:...
2.0, the organisation behind the July 2011 rally
Bersih 2.0 rally
The Bersih 2.0 rally was a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur held on 9 July 2011 as a follow-up to the 2007 Bersih rally. The rally, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections , was supported by Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition of the three largest opposition parties in Malaysia, but was...
in Kuala Lumpur which drew 20,000 people. She summed up the main issues raised by Bersih as "unhappiness... in the Sarawak [election
Sarawak state election, 2011
The tenth Sarawak state election was held on April 16, 2011 after nomination for candidates on April 6. The purpose of the election was to elect 71 representatives to the Sarawak State Assembly...
], unhappiness about corruption, [and] unhappiness about the independence of our institutions." She said demands made during the first rally in 2007 have not been addressed, hence the follow-up rally.
Ambiga later said the rally "exploded many myths" in Malaysia, including the notion that people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds could not work together and that the middle class was "too comfortable to step up to the plate."