Civil society groups and individuals today identified those who would be best qualified to sit or head the royal commission on the police force announced by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi three weeks ago.

From a list of prospective candidates, the most popular is senior lawyer Raja Aziz Addruse .

According to lawyer P Uthayakumar, the former Bar Council chairperson and president of human rights organisation Hakam would be the appropriate head for the commission due to his long involvement in cases involving police abuses.

"Raja Aziz is one of the more senior lawyers in the country. He is also a human rights activist who has been on police abuse cases long before others got involved.

"He was one of the first to highlight the problem that we have with trigger-happy policemen and he was also one of the first to question police integrity," said Uthayakumar, a co-founder of the Police Watch and Human Rights Committee.

Allowing changes

His proposal was supported by another lawyer R Sivarasa, who said the head of the commission should be someone with an impeccable track record and well known for independence.

According to him, these qualities are possessed by Raja Aziz.

"In order to be credible, the commission has to include civil society representation particularly groups which have consistently raised problems with the police force in the past such as Hakam, Suaram or Aliran.

"Otherwise, the initiative would appear to be very driven by the government," he said when contacted.

However, Sivarasa cautioned that unless the government is willing to allow changes in the political environment, a police inquiry would not solve recurring problems of abuse of power by the enforcement personnel.

To illustrate, he said the Bright Sparklers Royal Commission set up to investigate the explosion of the Sungai Buloh fireworks factory in 1991 produced good findings into the causes of the incident but they were not acted upon by the authorities.

"There has to be serious political will on the part of the executive to resolve some of the structural problems. We cannot control the police without a free media and an independent judiciary. These are part and parcel of the solution," he said.

Unblemished reputation

Another candidate proposed by Uthayakumar is former Court of Appeal Judge Shaik Daud Ismail , who retired from the judicial services in 2001.

"The former judge has taken some strong positions on police issues, especially after his retirement. Towards the end of his tenure as judge, he also made some strong comments (deploring) the pressure faced by the judiciary (from the executive)," he said.

Transparency International president Tunku Abdul Aziz, however, declined to name any individual beyond saying that the commission chairperson should be a retired judge with an unblemished reputation.

"A retired judge with an impeccable reputation would be ideal. We could also have a sitting judge for the inquiry but the person must be someone who is respected and has an untainted reputation.

"We need someone without a personal or political agenda and who is there to ensure that the terms of reference of the inquiry is observed carefully (because) the commission is only as good as its terms of reference," he said.

Abdul Aziz said the commission should be set up in such a way that it would not end up as a "police bashing exercise" but one which seeks to provide the police with the opportunity to reinvent themselves.

"The police have lost a lot of credibility and public confidence. The inquiry should look into the causes of this," he said.

Insider view

Meanwhile, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Zainah Anwar proposed an unlikely candidate for the post - former inspector general of police Mohammed Hanif Omar.

Hanif was the youngest police chief ever appointed. He was only 35 when he assumed the position in 1971 and served for 19 years before retiring in 1993. He is presently serving as the deputy chairperson of Genting Berhad and a director at the Arab Malaysian Bank Group.

Zainah said her choice of someone who was once part of the police force may make it easier for changes to be made to the institution.

"We have to be realistic and consider how best to bring about change in attitudes which are entrenched in the institution. It may be easier for the police to accept suggestions from people who were once part of the system, and therefore understand their position.

"I would not propose any former IGP but Tun Hanif did have a reputation for being a fair man and he studied law. He was also known as a competent IGP. If not the chair of the commission, he should certainly be a member of it," she said.

In addition, Zainah said the police commission should also include at least one member from Suhakam to leverage on the latter's experience handling complaints against the police.

"Suhakam has a relatively good working relationship with the police. We have had to deal with complaints almost on a daily basis and we have also carried out human rights training courses for the police," she said.

UN experience

Top of the pick for human rights organisation Suaram is Param Cumarasamy, a former Bar Council chairperson and United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

According to Suaram coordinator Yap Swee Seng ( photo ), the organisation's choice was based on Param's long track record for speaking out on human rights issues.

"He has vast experience on human rights issues and he held an important position with the UN. He also wrote annual reports on the judiciary for the UN. We feel that he would be an appropriate person," he said when contacted.

Param, a lawyer, was embroiled in a controversy in 1999 over his reports to the UN and a statement to an international magazine which criticised the conduct and the independence of the judiciary.

His interview to the magazine resulted in several multi-million ringgit defamation suits, which were only withdrawn after a verdict from the World Court which upheld his immunity as a UN special rapporteur.