Is solitary confinement in police remand centres under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the 1987 Operasi Lalang crackdown similar to being in a three-star hotel?

The new chief of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), Abu Talib Othman, certainly said so once, according to opposition leader Lim Kit Siang.

However, when asked about this yesterday, the perpetually smiling Abu Talib told malaysiakini , I never said it.

Will Abu Talib apologise if proof is produced that he had described the ISA solitary confinement ...as being put in a single room in a hotel? queried Lim in a press statement today.

[Will he] admit that he would have to undergo a sea-change in his understanding, attitude and approach to human rights now that he is Suhakam chairperson?

Abu Talib took over the mantle yesterday from Musa Hitam at the commissions office in Kuala Lumpur

Lim, one of the 117 Operasi Lalang detainees, said Abu Talib uttered the irresponsible statement on the solitary confinement meted out to ISA detainees while the detainees were under the 60-day interrogative custody in November 1987.

"[This] would be proof that his so-called tainted past is not all a creation of the press and put the focus on his role in several past controversies which cannot but raise disturbing questions about his credibility, independence and integrity as Suhakam chairperson, he added.

Controversial past

Abu Talib yesterday dismissed criticism that Suhakams credibility would be affected by his controversial past, which he said was all a creation of the press.

The former attorney-general who retired in 1994 said he was not aware of scepticism regarding his new appointment, saying that every case he prosecuted during his 13 years on the job was conducted lawfully.

But Abu Talib was evasive about his stand on the ISA and preferred to leave it to the commission to decide.

Abu Talib courted controversy when he 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.

He was also a member of the panel which ousted former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas in 1988, sparking a judicial crisis.

Also irreconcilable was the fact that the person who had defended the ISA now heads a human rights watchdog which has called for a review of the act.

C+ for Suhakam

Meanwhile, on the performance of the commission in its first two years, Lim was less generous than Musa who had unabashedly rated it B++.

My grading for Suhakam for the past two years is at most C+ and I am told that I am already being overgenerous, said the veteran politician.

[The C+] is thanks largely to two reports, the 32-page report on freedom of assembly and the 66-page inquiry report on the November 5, 2000 Kesas Highway incident, both made public in August this year.

Lim was commenting on Musas interview with AFP yesterday, in which he gave Suhakam the B++ rating as the organisation has become a household word within two years.

Musa, who had declined to serve another term, said that Suhakam had managed to sensitise those in power with the need to care for human rights aspects in their jobs, adding that Malaysia had made progress in respecting civil liberties following the creation of a human rights watchdog.

However, the former deputy premier conceded that the agency must be given enforcement powers, and not merely the duties of making recommendations to the government, which sometimes fell on deaf ears.

He admitted that the body had met with little success over controversial issues such as the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial, and on freedom of assembly and speech.

The Suhakam report on the Kesas Highway inquiry, which contained allegations of brutality that implicated the police, was prepared by former Chief Judge of Malaya Anuar Zainal Abidin and law lecturer Prof Mehrun Siraj, whose terms have not been extended.

Most distinguished and outstanding

Lim condemned the axing of both Anuar and Mehrun, urging the government to explain why they have been dropped when they are the two most distinguished and outstanding commissioners in the past two years.

Also dropped from the commission was Malaysian Nature Society president Dr Salleh Mohd Noor. Former judge Mahadev Shankar declined to serve another term for health reasons.

Besides Abu Talib, the new faces in Suhakam are retired Treasury deputy secretary-general Ramon Navaratnam, permanent representative to the United Nations Hasmy Agam, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) director-general Dr Abdul Monir Yaacob, retired Education director-general Asiah Abu Samah and retired National Population and Family Development Board director-general Dr Raj Abdul Karim.