{
  "id": 12531197,
  "title": "Human rights shouldn’t be a box-ticking exercise, Azalina tells businesses",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/human-rights-shouldnt-be-a-box-ticking-exercise-azalina-tells",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-07T03:14:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/10/07/human-rights-shouldnt-be-a-box-ticking-exercise-azalina-tells-businesses/238033"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Prime Minister's Department Minister in charge of Law and Institutional Reform, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, emphasized that Malaysia must transition from policy to practice on business and human rights. The National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2025-2030 (NAPBHR), launched in 2025, features 135 strategic actions across governance, labor, and environmental domains. Azalina underscored that success in 2030 would be determined by the tangible positive impact on workers, communities, businesses, and people, rather than merely by the number of meetings held or reports produced. At the National Conference on Business and Human Rights 2026, she unveiled the Human Rights Due Diligence Guide for Businesses in Malaysia, a tool designed to assist companies in identifying, preventing, mitigating, and addressing potential adverse human rights impacts. This guide employs a risk-based and proportionate approach, acknowledging the varying resources and risk exposure of multinational corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises. Azalina encouraged businesses of all sizes to utilize the guide as a management and decision-making tool rather than a mere compliance document. Eleven immediate actions were identified for the initial year, with oversight provided by a National Steering Committee and three Technical Committees. The government's objective is not to impose regulations merely for compliance, but to ensure respect for human rights becomes an integral part of good business practices, ranging from corporate policies to supply chains and decision-making. Responsible business conduct should not be seen as a mere cost, but rather as a way to build trust, enhance resilience, and safeguard reputation. The Malaysian government has been actively engaging regulators, industry, and communities in Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, and Sarawak to discuss issues like strategic lawsuits against public participation and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Azalina emphasized that such engagement was crucial because effective policy development necessitates input from those who implement, are affected by, and are intended to be protected by these policies. She described the NAPBHR as a \"living and evolving national commitment\" that would require ongoing learning and adaptation through 2030. Azalina stressed that business and human rights are not mutually exclusive; rather, a modern economy must be capable of delivering both economic growth and human dignity.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Malaysia must now move from policy to practice on business and human rights, said Minister i...",
  "key_points": [
    "Azalina stresses Malaysia must move from policy to practice on business and human rights.",
    "National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2025-2030 features 135 strategic actions."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Malaysia's shift from policy to practice on business and human rights means companies must integrate respect for human rights into their operations, not just tick compliance boxes.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Azalina: Businesses must make human rights part of doing business",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/azalina-businesses-must-make-human-rights-part-of-doing-business",
        "published": "2026-10-07T03:21:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}