news feature

When the appointment of former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman as the new chairperson of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) was announced yesterday, it drew a storm of protest.

At a time when the government is grappling with a credibility problem, this latest appointment, according to DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang, is destined to besmirch the situation further.

The opposition leader also expressed fear for the fate of the human rights watchdog as Abu Talibs controversial appointment is seen as an omen that Suhakam will be reduced to a pale shadow of its present role.

Abu Talib, who has the distinction of being Malaysias youngest AG at the age of 36, courted his first controversy in his 13 years tenure when he allegedly played a key role in the ouster of the then Lord President Salleh Abas for being biased against the government in 1988.

Malaysias first prime minister, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman made no bones about his disgust when he described the move as the most shocking story in modern legal and judicial history.

Assault on the judiciary

Tunkus scathing observations were recorded in his foreword for May Day for Justice , written by Salleh and co-authored by the then Far Eastern Economic Review bureau chief for Malaysia, K Das.

Episode after episode in the book shows the spiritual corruption, the cynicism, the moral turpitude, the viciousness and the horrible ruthlessness which attended the exercise of falsely accusing him (Salleh), hastily putting him before a tribunal of questionable character and quickly removing him from office, he penned.

According to May Day , Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had sent Abu Talib to solicit a resignation from the chief judge, offering financial rewards, which included a lucrative position at the Islamic Bank in Saudi Arabia.

When these were spurned, Salleh claimed Abu Talib, in a bid to end the formers career, framed several ridiculous charges against him.

A tribunal  where Abu Talib was the prosecutor  heard the charges and sacked Salleh.

Sex scandal

Following this, Abu Talib courted another controversy for allegedly interfering in the 1989 sex scandal involving DP Vijandran, the then Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker and parliamentary secretary in the Industry and International Trade Ministry.

In January 1990, the police, much to the shock of various quarters, said the case had been closed and that it had destroyed the 11 videocassettes, 2,000 photographs and negatives depicting Vijandrans sexual escapades with numerous women.

This, according to the police, was done following Abu Talibs directive. The revealation ignited an uproar and many accused the government of a cover-up.

Another controversy which has dogged the countrys former top legal officer, is the 1984 RM2.5 billion Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal.

Despite claims that senior cabinet members and high-ranking government officials were involved, Abu Talib failed to initiate any prosecution.

However, a few key players were charged and sentenced in by the police in Hong Kong and London for the embezzlement and the murder of a staff of the bank.

Three-star hotels

Another blemish on Abu Talibs resume, is his defence of the Internal Security Act, which Suhakam strongly opposed and the 1987 crackdown on dissidents, better known as Operasi Lallang.

Abu Talib, had also described the police remand centres which housed these detainees as being similar to three-star hotels.

However, three years ago, Abu Talib appeared to have redeemed his image when he was appointed to be a member of the royal commission which investigated the infamous black-eye of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

The commission held the then Inspector-General of Police Rahim Noor responsible for assaulting Anwar while in custody. The former resigned and was charged for the incident.

Ironically, the individual who chaired the royal commission, former chief justice of Malaya Anuar Zainal Abidin, was one of the four Suhakam commissioners dropped from the line-up.

In their place are men and women of lesser significance, and of course, an individual who has been no stranger to controversy, Abu Talib, who will succeed present Suhakam chief and ex-deputy premier Musa Hitam.