Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) vice-chairperson Simon Sipaun today could not offer an explanation as to why all 17 of its commissioners went missing for three working days.

Sipaun, when contacted, said he is in the dark over the matter as he is not at the Suhakam headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

"I am not in Kuala Lumpur and that makes it difficult to explain what happened," said the vice-chairperson, who is currently stationed in Sabah.

Suhakam came under fire last week from a social activist and families of hunger-striking Simpang Renggam detainees who were enraged that no commissioner was available to hear about their plight.

Their memorandum was received by a Suhakam employee who passed it on to the relevant division head later.

"Normally if you want a commissioner to receive a memo, it can be arranged. If the office is informed in advance, even a commissioner who is not on duty can be asked to be present to receive the document and complaint," said Sipaun.

He added that it has been Suhakam's practice to have at least one commissioner present at the office every day but there are occasions when the assigned commissioner is unable to be there.

Criticism has also been levied against commissioners who are only present at the Suhakam office at certain times of the day and not throughout the day.

Sipaun could not say for sure if the commissioners' part-time roles stipulated that they had to be stationed at the office for the full duration of the day.

"I am not sure but I assume it should be for the full day," he said, adding that he goes to the Kota Kinabalu office every morning and is in for at least half the day.

"Commissioners are all part-timers. We are paid allowances rather than remuneration," he said.

The commissioners receive RM7,000 each as a monthly allowance along with perks like a car. Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman is said to receive an allowance of more than RM10,000.

Visit arranged

Asked on Suhakam's stand on the hunger strike at Simpang Renggam, Sipaun said he was unfamiliar with the event but acknowledged that commissioners are always sent to visit and investigate such occurrences.

However, according to Suaram co-ordinator S Arutchelvan, a Suhakam delegation had visited Simpang Renggam today but he did not have the details of the inspection.

The Internal Security Ministry has said that the hunger strike, which began on Nov 12, has ended. The ministry added that they had been protesting against their "extended detention".

The hunger-strikers claimed that besides their continued incarceration, they were also protesting against unsatisfactory conditions.

Detainees include those arrested under the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance, under which the government can detain suspects for two years without trial to preserve public order or prevent violence.