Suspended Sarawak English daily The Sarawak Tribune 'deserved to be closed down', Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) Commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan said today.

"I think it deserved to be closed because religion is something very sensitive [...] the media must be very careful when dealing with religion (issues) because the outcome will be very obvious," he said. He was speaking to reporters at a Suhakam press conference on custodial deaths.

He said no media should be allowed to escape the consequences if they have belittled any religion.

Asked if Suhakam supported the suspension on the paper, Hamdan said: "It's not a matter of supporting or not [...] the government has right to ensure (security) because the right to life is the most important right in human rights. If there is violence erupting, surely I think the right to life will be threatened".

The Sarawak Tribune was suspended indefinitely by the government yesterday under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 following the controversial caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad which it reprinted in it last Saturday edition.

Asked if his statement was contradictory with Suhakam's stand to revoke the PPPA, Hamdan said th closure has nothing to do the Act as the government can invoke other laws - including the Sedition Act - in taking action against the Tribune .

"The first thing the government needs to worry about is national security. I don't think the government is serving its own interest. It's serving the people's interest (in suspending the paper).

He said the suspension might be seen as harsh but for the time being it might be 'the best course of action'.

Public inquiries

He said while Suhakam appreciates the importance of media freedom, respecting the norms and sensitivities of the people are also very crucial especially as the caricature controversy had caused violence in other countries.

"Suhakam has been advocating the freedom of the media, but everything has to be seen in context. One cannot see it as operating in a vacuum," he said.

At the press conference earlier, Hamdan announced that the commission will carry out two public inquiries at Simpang Renggam and Penang respectively this month to investigate into the custodial deaths of detainees S Hendry and A Ravindran.

The inquiry into the death of 18-year-old Hendry, who died on Nov 19 last year at the Simpang Renggam detention camp, will be conducted at the Simpang Renggam Recreational Club on Feb 17 and 18.

The authorities claim that Hendry committed suicide but his family say otherwise.

The commission is also to look into the death of Ravindran who was found dead while detained at the Jalan Patani Polis Station in Penang last November.

The inquiry will be held on Feb 23 and 24 at a venue to be determined later.