Int'l group denounces KL

Int'l group denounces KL

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Legislators representing a global rights watchdog condemned the Malaysian government on Wednesday over a jailed opposition leader, adding to international criticism of Kuala Lumpur's rights record.

Representatives of the human rights committee of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) said Malaysian authorities had shown an almost unprecedented lack of cooperation during their three-day visit to the capital.

Prison authorities rejected a request by the three-member delegation to meet privately with Lim Guan Eng, an imprisoned member of parliament and leader of Malaysia's opposition Democratic Action Party, the IPU representatives said.

Lim was convicted of sedition and sentenced to two concurrent 18-month prison terms this year for criticizing the government's handling of allegations of statutory rape against a former state chief minister.