A/HRC/40/11 the Election Commission was composed of civil society representatives, with transparency and accountability at the heart of that arrangement. 10. The independence of the judiciary was extremely important; questionable appointments belonged to the past. 11. Steps were being taken to raise the socioeconomic standards of the population and to carry out development programmes, providing infrastructure and utilities to help further reduce the poverty gap. The quality of life of the indigenous people had been elevated through income-generating activities, providing modern infrastructure in traditional settlements, education opportunities and medical assistance. 12. Rural community centres had been established all over Malaysia. In Sarawak, all of those facilities had been built at strategic locations in remote areas, including for the Penan community. All the centres provided basic and essential facilities to implement programmes by government agencies in a coordinated manner. 13. As for the rights of women and children, Malaysia stated that it had spared no efforts to ensure the best interests of the child. In that regard, the Government had been working towards ensuring the emotional and mental growth and safety of children. Moreover, the state Chief Ministers, along with the Government, had agreed to set the minimum marriageable age at 18 years, and had adopted a new policy to provide access to birth registration, regardless of the child’s nationality or the legal status of their parents. The National Policy on Women had also been updated. The 30 per cent target related to women’s representation in decision-making positions had been exceeded. 14. Regarding the rights of persons with disabilities, Malaysia had shifted towards a rights-based approach. Under its eleventh Malaysia Plan, it would create a friendly physical environment and enhance training for persons with disabilities. 15. The recently increased minimum wage was also applicable to foreign workers, and was periodically reviewed at regular intervals. Although Malaysia was not a State party to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Government had been continuously working with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Malaysia hosted around 160,000 persons of concern. 16. The Government had provided access to health care and education for those in possession of a UNHCR card. Additionally, in cooperation with UNHCR, it had established a joint task force to address migration management issues. 17. The National Human Rights Action Plan had been launched and would be reviewed periodically. The annual report of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia would be debated in both houses of Parliament, a parliamentary committee would be responsible for appointing commissioners to preserve the Commission’s independence. 18. At the regional level, the Government had pledged to enhance the capacity of the Office of the Malaysian Representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. The appointment of a new representative to that body would be held in an open and transparent manner. 19. Malaysia was proud to announce key steps it would take within the third universal periodic review cycle and beyond. The Government had taken a fresh look at the recommendations it had previously noted, and it believed that there was room for progress in that area. It would conduct half-yearly reviews to examine the progress in implementing the recommendations of the universal periodic review. To that end, it would be working closely with the main stakeholders from the public sector and civil society organizations. A working group would be developing a cross-cutting database, encompassing recommendations from the international human rights system and the Sustainable Development Goals. With the direct involvement of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, the United Nations country team and civil society organizations, it would help to evaluate the country’s human rights performance. 3