A rights group today criticised the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) for allegedly misleading the nation by stating that there were no human rights violations in immigration detention camps.

Labour rights organisation Tenaganita said that, Suhakam was instead doing less to protect human rights violations when its makes statements on camp conditions without taking into consideration weaknesses in its own investigative methods.

"[M]ore than a month [after] the horrific conditions and mode of deportation were highlighted by the media and the governments and non-government organisations of the Philippines and Indonesia, did Suhakam expect to see the same conditions? Is this naivete or dancing to the tune of the state?" questioned Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez.

She said Suhakam commissioners seem to need upgrading of their skills in investigation of human rights violations.

"There is indeed a need to be less bureaucratic and more people-centred," said Fernandez in a press statement today.