Human rights watchdog Proham has expressed “deep regret” over the actions of several hecklers who disrupted Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s speech at London’s O2 Arena on Monday.

The group said that while Proham always upheld freedom of assembly and expression as a basic human right, the hecklers had acted improperly.

NONE“We must show respect to the office and the person at all times even if we disagree with the views of the host or the guest, in accordance with our Malaysian culture.

“We affirm our right to differ and we can take time to express differences, but not by way of disrespecting our prime minister when delivering a speech to fellow Malaysians, particularly in a foreign country,” said the group.

Proham, which comprise of former Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) members, was commenting on videos uploaded on Youtube which depicted several individuals chanting “Bersih!” as Najib began his speech.

“Can you please stop it? Can you stop it, please... I know, I know, but can you stop it? You can meet with me later, okay? Please, can you stop it?” Najib was heard saying.

Proham described the incident as “unfortunate” and that it was a case against discouraging such disorderly behaviour among Malaysians.

It said Malaysians must review methods and approaches towards safeguarding their human rights without violating the standards of decency, politeness and propriety.

The statement was issued by Proham chairperson Simon Sipaun and group members Ramon Navaratnam, Hamdan Adnan and Denison Jayasooria.

A place where Najib has no control over the police