Appointment of new human rights chief a bad omen
Opposition leaders today expressed their concern over the appointment of former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman as the new chief of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to replace outgoing chairperson Musa Hitam.
In a statement faxed to malaysiakini , DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang asked whether Abu Talib's entry into Suhakam, announced yesterday, is a sign that the commission "will be reduced to a pale shadow of its present role".
"Abu Talib's appointment as Suhakam chairperson has rightly and naturally aroused reservations about the credibility and independence of Suhakam as his 13-year tenure as attorney-general ... had been marked by several controversies which raised disturbing questions about his credibility, independence and integrity," he said.
Lim noted that the former AG not only failed to initiate any prosecution into the RM2.5 billion Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal, but also destroyed the evidence implicating former deputy speaker of Dewan Rakyat DP Vijandran in a pornographic videotape scandal.
"For a start, is Abu Talib prepared to honour Suhakam's commitment made last week to conduct an inquiry into the detention of the six reformasi activists [held] under the Internal Security Act?" Lim asked, referring to the mostly Keadilan leaders arrested on April 10 last year for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government through militant means.
He also challenged Abu Talib to support the commission's position that detention-without-trial laws like ISA constitute a gross human rights violation.
Better choice
Lim's second-in-command Karpal Singh said the appointment "is not a step in the right direction".
The DAP deputy chairperson said Abu Talib in his capacity as the attorney-general and public prosecutor had implemented the Essential (Security Cases) Regulations (Escar) which is considered draconian and internationally criticised.
"It is important that the chairperson of Suhakam should be a personality who commands public confidence. It naturally follows that the public perception of the credentials of the appointee is a predominant consideration," Karpal said.
"In the interest of the public, the government ought to review the appointment of Abu Talib. Retired Federal Court judge Harun Hashim who has been re-appointed a member of the commission would be a better choice to head the commission."
Five new commissioners have also been appointed for a two-year term.
The new commissioners are retired Treasury deputy secretary-general Ramon Navaratnam, the permanent representative to the United Nations Hasmy Agam, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) director-general Dr Abdul Monir Yaacob, retired Education Ministry director-general Asiah Abu Samah and retired National Population and Family Development Board director-general Dr Raj Abdul Karim.
Four other commissioners former judges Anuar Zainal Abidin and Mahadev Shankar, Dr Salleh Mohd Nor and Mehrun Siraj have been dropped from new line-up.
BN rubber stamps
The youth wing of Muslim opposition party PAS also released a statement urging Suhakam under Abu Talib leadership to be objective in defending human rights and not become a Barisan Nasional's tool.
"PAS national youth wing welcomes the appointments of distinguished names. However, we hope these new appointees will not become the rubber stamps for the Barisan Nasional government by ignoring its human rights abuses," its chief Mahfuz Omar said.
Mahfuz said that as much as the youth wing recognises Abu Talib's contributions as a senior government official, it hasn't forgotten his mistakes either.
"Thus, we hope he will not repeat this mistakes," he said.
Mahfuz, who is also the Pokok Sena member of parliament, also urged Abu Talib to free himself from personal business interest, as well as to resign from his position as the chairperson of property developer Tan & Tan.
Abu Talib is also the chairperson and board member of several public-listed companies such British American Tobacco (M) Bhd.
For more news and views that matter, subscribe and support independent media for only RM0.36 sen a day:
Subscribe now