The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has urged the government to adopt its recommendations on the Internal Security Act (ISA) during the ISA review to be conducted by the government.

The call came in the wake of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim's statement on Friday that the ISA will be reviewed with regard to human rights in order to make the law more "humane".

Suhakam Commissioner Prof Hamdan Mohd Adnan said the recommendations in the Suhakam's 'Review of the ISA' report released in March should be taken into consideration since one of the commission's major role is to advise and assist the government in matter pertaining to human rights.

"The establishment of Suhakam under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, is in itself recognition by the government that human rights should be protected by the rule of law and that human rights forms the foundation of freedom, justice and peace.

"The review of controversial laws such as the ISA, the Restricted Residence Act or any laws lacking in human rights aspects is very much in line with the respect for and observance of fundamental freedoms," he said in a statement.

Spell out the threats

The Suhakam report has recommended that the ISA - which allows for detention without trial - be repealed and replace with a new comprehensive security law.

It also recommended that judicial review be brought back to check any abuse of the all-powerful ISA and called on the government to clearly spell out the offences which are considered threats to national security.

Responding to the minister's statement yesterday, the Bar council human rights committee and the National Human Rights Society also stressed that the ISA should be abolished as it is the only way to be seen as "humane".

While applauding Rais's announcement, Hamdan said the government should be reminded to protect human rights of citizens in all spheres of life.

"This decision is long awaited and augurs well for the future as this reflects the government's commitment towards protecting the inherent dignity and the fundamental rights of citizens," he asserted.

Despite Rais's announcement, a parliamentary reply from the Home Ministry in September this year said changes are unlikely on the security act as the government would ensure it will continue to be "relevant". The ministry said it was conducting a review in which a decision would be made

Administrative inefficiency

In the same statement, Hamdan also urged the government to include awareness of human rights among civil servants in its efforts to inculcate values, attitudes and behaviours based on the principles of integrity and justice.

He was referring to numerous complaints received by the commission concerning alleged administrative inefficiency including undue delay in the processing of applications for permanent resident status, compensation and other matters requiring approval while there were also instances that the applications were rejected for no reason.

He said this kind of awareness is needed to respect the citizen's right to know and it is especially important in view of the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad's recent call for a more efficient public services.

"In keeping with the practices of good governance, where the authorities seek to deny the public access to this information, they should justify their refusal," Hamdan stressed.

Elaborating, the commissioner said Suhakam is also concerned with the undue delay in the disposal of court cases that has been recently highlighted, in some taking seven years to complete.

"Such inordinate delay in disposal of cases may be in violation of the right to personal liberty and the right to a fair trial of the accused.

"As justice delayed in justice denied, the speedy disposal of cases by the courts will maintain public confidence in the law and reflect an effective implementation of human rights by the justice system," he noted.

Discuss human rights issues

Meanwhile, MCA Youth chief Ong Tee Keat said today that the country should uphold the spirit enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948 to work towards a better society.

"The UDHR has been adopted by many countries and it is the most relevant human rights declaration to date. We should struggle for it and see it as a final destination of our goal," he told the 80-odd participants when officiating a 'Know your rights' workshop in Kuala Lumpur today.

The one-day workshop was jointly organised by six youth bodies under the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in conjunction with World Human Rights Day (Dec 10).

He said human rights issues should not be seen as sensitive topics because the public need to discuss and debate it, and through this, will raise their awareness of their own rights. He said many people are still unaware of their fundamental rights.

However Ong, who is also deputy youth and sports minister, said to promote human rights could not only be done by just holding workshops, talks or chant slogan like ' Malaysia boleh '.

He cited the premier's recent effort to cut bureaucratic red tape and corruption as one of the government's ways to uphold human rights.

The deputy minister also stressed that a country must make a progress in promoting human rights and it is "unacceptable" if any government leader said the current human rights standard in the country should remain static.

"We need to move, we cannot remain at the same human rights status ten years ago and ten years later now," he said.

Malaysia affirmed the UDHR ten years ago during the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. A two-days conference will be held in Bangkok this week to review the human rights progress in those countries which had affirmed the declaration.