The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) will delve into complaints raised by the six Internal Security Act detainess who are currently staging a hunger strike at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak.

In a press statement today, the commission said the complaints fell within its mandate as provided under the Suhakam Act 1999.

However, the date of the inquiry will be decided by the new commissioners, who are expected to be appointed next week for a tenure of two years.

The commission said it was concerned that the detainees had begun a hunger strike due to their arrest and continued detention and consequently, a delegation led by commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan visited the camp on Saturday.

During the visit, the Suhakam delegation was informed of the detainees concerns, in particular, the medical condition of one whom they (detainees) believed was in need of hospitalisation, said the statement signed by the commissions secretary Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria.

Suhakam said while the detainees are being attended to by government doctors, they have lost confidence in these doctors and wished to be examined by independent doctors.

Angry exchange

The commission conceded that the centres authority should not restrict access of doctors who have the trust and confidence of the detainees and their families.

The delegation witnessed an angry exchange between a detainee and a medical officer from the Taiping hospital and noted the general tense situation between the detainees and the doctor.

Since the government invoked the ISA on the detainees last year for allegedly seeking to topple the government via militant means, Suhakam has received several memorandums calling for their release.

The last memorandum was submitted by opposition leaders and a coalition of non-governmental organisations called the Abolish ISA Movement, on April 10.

The six — Keadilan leaders Tian Chua, Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Saari Sungib, Lokman Noor Adam, Dr Badrulamin Bahron and malaysiakini columnist-cum-filmmaker Hishamuddin Rais — have embarked on the hunger strike campaign since April 10, to mark the first anniversary of their arrest and demand that they be released or tried in open court.

The government had not responded beyond saying that the hunger strike was against camp rules and regulations.

Rapidly deteriorating health

On Sunday, family members who visited the detainees claimed that their health was rapidly deteriorating and most of the detainees said they experienced dizzy spells when attempting to stand up.

The families said Chua, Ezam and Saari had lost between 1.5kg to 2kg each day. Lokman had lost 7kg since day one of the hunger strike, Hishammuddin 4kg and Badrul 5kg.