Opposition leader grills Suhakam for not submitting annual report

comments     Claudia Theophilus     Published     Updated

The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has infringed its own enabling act of 1999 by failing to submit its second annual report at the recent parliamentary session, said DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang today.

He said Suhakam's former chairperson Musa Hitam had contravened the mandatory requirement by not submitting the second annual report at the parliamentary session which sat between March 11 and April 9.

"Maybe Musa can explain why and how Suhakam can commit such a blunder in contravening its principal act," he said, citing Section 21(1), (2) and (3).

"Is it because of the crisis faced by Suhakam in its second year of a more inhospitable and hostile government and bureaucracy, especially after the Kesas Highway inquiry found the police to have used excessive force against some of the 10,000 demonstrators?" he asked in a statement.

Lim also questioned Suhakam's failure to hold a public inquiry into the Petaling Jaya Selatan clashes which claimed six lives, leaving hundreds more injured early last year.

Suhakam's excuse was that police were already investigating the matter which it said not an issue of human rights violations but a criminal act since it concerned violence.

"The new Suhakam panel should review the numerous representations for a public inquiry into the issue as a first step to establish credibility by overriding the earlier decision."

On the new appointments in Suhakam, Lim urged Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to fill the seven vacancies with nominees from human rights non-governmental organisations.

"This is to resolve the current crisis of confidence in Suhakam so that it can start its second two-year term with a more balanced composition," he said in a statement today.

He also urged Mahathir to re-appoint former chief judge of Malaya Anuar Zainal Abidin and law lecturer Prof Mehrun Siraj, two of the four commissioners whose contract was not renewed. The other was Malaysian Nature Society president Dr Salleh Mohd Noor. Musa and former court of appeal judge Mahadev Shankar declined to serve another term.

'Most scandalous' axing

The new lineup led by former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman was announced by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement on Monday.

The five others 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 Ministry director-general Asiah Abu Samah and retired National Population and Family Development Board director-general Dr Raj Abdul Karim.

Describing the axing of Anuar and Mehrun as "most scandalous", Lim said it was an open secret that they have been at the forefront in discharging Suhakam's most important mandate of protecting human rights.

"Their axing is a gross violation of the Paris Principles, precipitating a crisis of confidence in Suhakam by compromising its independence, credibility, integrity and authority.

"The government has been unable to give convincing and credible reasons as to why both of them have been dropped when they should be role models for other commissioners in their commitment."

As example, Lim cited Anuar's appointment last April by the United Nations Human Rights Commission to its international working group on "Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances" as the sole representative from the Asian region.

Government mentality

Lim also compared the new appointments of four former civil servants and one still serving who replaced a former chief judge, a former court of appeal judge and a law professor.

"This is a matter of grave concern because the government is trying to foster a subservient government mentality in Suhakam with such appointments.

"It should be noted that Anuar and Mahadev were on the three-member royal commission of inquiry which, assisted by newly-appointed Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib, had identified the culprit responsible for (former deputy premier) Anwar Ibrahim's black eye."

Lim said the more important question for Suhakam is whether it had contributed towards the protection of human rights in its first two-year term.



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