A Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioner Zainah Anwar urged the public to allow Abu Talib Othman the opportunity to prove his mettle as the new Suhakam chairperson before criticising his appointment.

"We should give him a chance to prove himself. [Former Suhakam chairperson] Musa Hitam was also criticised when he was first appointed but now that he is gone, people lament his departure. It is ridiculous," she said when met at her office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

According to Zainah, the new head of the human rights watchdog has assured other commissioners that he will not take instructions from the government when carrying out his duties.

She dismissed criticism by several quarters over Abu Talib's appointment, saying that Suhakam will not change its stand that detention under the Internal Security Act is a violation of human rights.

Abu Talib's appointment as the chairperson of the human rights commission raised concerns of opposition politicians and non-governmental organisations as he was said to have previously expressed support for the use of the ISA in detaining members of the opposition during the 1987 Operasi Lalang .

During his tenure as attorney-general in the 1980s, Abu Talib was also embroiled in several other controversies, including the destruction of vital evidence of the 1989 sex scandal involving DP Vijandran, the then Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker and parliamentary secretary in the Industry and International Trade Ministry.

'Send clear message'

Meanwhile, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said aside from addressing public concerns over his controversial track record, he should also reassure the public that there is no conflict of interest between his appointment as Suhakam chairperson and his other business interests.

"If Abu Talib feels he could rise to the completely new challenges of Suhakam...he should immediately send out a clear message to NGOs, the Bar Council, Opposition political parties and concerned Malaysians to give him a chance to prove himself.

"This must be followed by his publicly declaring all his business and corporate interests as well as his incomes and assets to establish that there could be no conflict of interest in the discharge of his duties as Suhakam chairperson," said Lim in a press statement yesterday.

According to Lim, Abu Talib was involved in "one of the biggest financial scandals of the government" in the form of a RM1.88 billion bailout for Time dotCom during his role as the company's chairperson.

"This further compounds the question of whether Abu Talib has the stuff to independently and credibly discharge the statutory duties as Suhakam chairperson," he added.

Unless Abu Talib is prepared to take the steps suggested, Lim said the former should resign to make way for a more suitable appointee.

In addition to the chairmanship of Time dotCom, Abu Talib is also on the board of several other companies including British American Tobacco, Sime Darby, IHM Sdn Bhd, a healthcare management organisation, and adviser of Jobstreet.com, a web-based employment service.