COMMENT | Ann Teo started her involvement in Sarawak civil society approximately 20 years ago. Whether as a para-counsellor for women in crisis or a legal practitioner, she helped Sarawakians uphold their basic rights and civil liberties.

She taught rural Sarawakians, Penan women and girls, how to deal with harassment and exploitation. During the Bersih rallies in Kuching, she was the chief lawyer defending their rights to peaceful assembly.

In 2016, she and her friends drove 800km from Miri to Kuching mobilising Sarawakians to participate...