The Human Rights Commission, or Suhakam, will be writing to the police to seek a clarification on the blanket ban on ceramah (public political speeches) introduced last year before meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"When we get a response from them [the police], we can hopefully meet with Abdullah," Suhakam commissioner Lee Lam Thye told malaysiakini today.

Abdullah, who is also home minister, was quoted by news reports today as saying he was willing to meet with the commission to discuss the issue of the ceramah ban.

Lee, who is Suhakam's police liaison, said a letter to initiate a meeting between the police and the commission over the ban would be sent out "in a few days time".

Police have been in recent weeks aggressively enforcing the ban on ceramah announced last July. The police action followed a Feb 10 PAS gathering in Baling, Kedah which turned unruly, culminating in the torching of a police truck by unidentified men.

The 12-member Suhakam issued a press statement on Monday condemning the blanket ban on ceramah labelling it a violation of human rights.

Abdullah, however, said the commission was wrong in saying that ceramah had been banned adding that organisers were still free to apply for police permits for the gatherings. Whether the gathering was allowed would depend on the discretion of the authorities.

"Abdullah is entitled to his opinion but the commission had deliberated on the matter and we thought that it was necessary to make our statement," Lee said today in response to the home minister's assertion.

Suhakam rapped

Fellow commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan said that he was "grateful" that the Abdullah had offered to meet with the commission but reiterated that people should be allowed to be involved in ceramah .

"How can one talk about democracy when the people are not even allowed to gather together for a ceramah ? The idea of a total ban is indeed frightening. People ought to be allowed to have ceramah indoors,' he said.

Regulations allowing the holding of ceramah were still very subjective, he added.

Suhakam came under fire form government quarters when it released its Freedom of Assembly report on Aug 3 last year which called on the police to ease up on the strict issuance of permits for ceramah and public assemblies.

The report recommended that police permits for indoor gatherings should be issued automatically, while outdoor rallies should be allowed to be held in certain designated public areas.

The commission was chastised again by the authorities when it released another report three weeks later accusing the police of 'gross human rights violations' when dispersing the crowd attending the 100,000 People's Gathering organised by Keadilan along the Kesas highway on Nov 5, 2000.