The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has recorded a steady rise in the number of complaints against the police in recent years.

NONE According to the commission's annual report for 2012, the number of complaints had risen from 38 in 2008 to 126 in 2012.

"Among these (126 complaints in 2012) were allegations that arrested persons were assaulted while in custody.

"In most cases, it was reported that the assault took place during interrogation to compel the individuals to admit wrongdoing," reads the report.

The report also noted a rise in complaints under the subcategory "excessive use of force" from 10 in 2011 to 34 in 2012.

In view of this, Suhakam also reiterated its suggestion that the police should avoid physical contact with detainees and make arrests only when there is reasonable suspicion that a person had committed an offence.

The 126 complaints against the police were disproportionate when compared to other enforcement agencies with only 14 complaints made against the Immigration Department and 12 against the Prisons Department.

Highest complaints against Sabah NRD

The report also noted drastically higher number of complaints against the National Registration Department (NRD) in Sabah in comparison to other states in Malaysia.

NONE In 2012, there were 45 complaints filed against the NRD in Sabah, while five came from the peninsula, and none from Sarawak.

When contacted by Malaysiakini , Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam ( left ), who is also the Commission’s complaints group chairperson, said that most the complaints were in relation to citizenship issues.

These included long waiting times for IC registration, Sabahan's seeking to renew their IC's but instead having their IC's taken away and exchanged with temporary cards, as well as claims of birth certificates not being issued.

However, when asked, Nayagam said he could not speculate on the reason complaints in Sabah were higher than the rest of Malaysia.

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