The government has dropped outspoken human rights commissioner Mohd Hamdan Adnan from Suhakam's 2006 - 2008 team.

Hamdan is among two others, Ramon V Navaratnam and Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hassan Shahabudin, whose contracts were not renewed.

It was also learned that Ranita Mohd Hussein had requested that her term not be extended.

The four new faces replacing them are Islamic scholar Muhammad 'Uthman El-Muhammady, Dr Denison Jayasooria of the Social Strategic Foundation, lawyer Zaiton Othman, and Dr Michael Yeoh of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute.

Muhammad is the first religious scholar to be appointed in the six-year old organisation.

The belated announcement was revealed in a fax to Suhakam from Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. The term of the previous team expired last Monday, while the new team will serve until April 2008.

Among those retained is former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman, who remains as the organisation's chairperson.

Three things to say

The others whose contracts were renewed are Simon Sipaun, Prof Dr Chiam Heng Keng, Dr Mohamad Hirman Ritom Abdullah, Dr Abdul Monir Yaacob, Asiah Abu Samad, Dr Raj Abdul Karim, KC Vohrah, Choo Siew Koh, Tunku Nazihah Tunku Mohamed Rus, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, N Siva Subramaniam and Dr Khoo Kay Kim.

Hamdan is one of the few commissioners - apart from Sipaun, Chiam and Hirman - who are from the original team appointed in 2000.

When contacted, Hamdan said he "only had three things to say in respond" to the announcement.

"I am grateful that the government has allowed me to work with Suhakam for at least three terms.

"I would also like to thank the media, people in which have really helped me to articulate a lot of the human rights problems that we face.

"I also seek forgiveness from all those people whose cases (of human rights abuse) I have not been able to help. I hope that all those people who have been appointed or retained can look into their problems," he said.

A great loss

Meanwhile, Siva described the departure of Hamdan as a "great loss" to the rights commission.

"He has worked hard and done his job well. We have learned from his example of working hard and how he goes down to the grassroots," he said when contacted.

Siva added, however, that he is confident Suhakam will gain from the new appointments as they all offer "assets" that are of benefit to the commission.

"They are all well-known public figures yet understand the problems of the (ordinary) people. A number of them have backgrounds in human rights, and I am confident that they will be assets to the commission," said Siva.

Suhakam has a chequered history in defending human rights, with non-government organisations complaining about its ineffectiveness. Most of its recommendations over the past six years have been ignored by the government.

Recently, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz revealed that the government had no intention of giving the organisation any 'teeth' .