The credibility of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) in its fledgling years was further battered when controversial former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman was appointed to lead the human rights body exactly o­ne year ago. Was the general scepticism justified? Readers can judge for themselves how Abu Talib is faring, in this second part of his exclusive interview with malaysiakini .

Malaysiakini: How many complaints did Suhakam receive in the past 12 months and how many of them were resolved?

Abu Talib:

We received a total of 245 complaints between March 2002 and March 2003. Of these, 92 complaints lodged were against the government bureaucracies, 78 were against the police and enforcement agencies, and 75 were o­n land and property matters and matters relating to illegal immigrants. Out of these, 196 cases have been resolved so far.