The government, in an unexpected move, has guaranteed the safety of human rights lawyer P Uthayakumar and urged him to come home from Britain where he has applied for asylum.

"We assure him that his safety is secure because we don't want to see Malaysians being unnecessarily harassed for things they do, which may at the end of the day be beneficial to the country," Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said today. [Click here to play video]

Nazri, who oversees parliamentary affairs, said this when receiving a copy of a human rights report from local watchdog Suaram. Also present were M Kayveas, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, and Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.

"I think it is (going) a bit overboard for Uthayakumar to flee the country. It gives a wrong impression to the world and I hope that he comes back," he said.

"This is his country, he should not go and emigrate anywhere else. This is your country and you should come and face whatever you have said."

Uthayakumar has said that he would only return to Malaysia if his safety is guaranteed by the government and the police.

'We'll get them'

Uthayakumar, a vocal critic of alleged police abuses sought asylum on May 20 after attacks on him which left injuries, as well as an earlier incident where his car was damaged. He lodged a report claiming that the attacks were perpetrated by the police.

In response, the police said that they intended to file charges of 'criminal defamation' against him.

Commenting on the allegations, Nazri said any instance of human rights abuses could be easily be detected and acted upon.

"The police are not a secret society where they can get away with a lot of things (or) for them to do things which are human rights abuses... they can be easily detected. Whoever threatens Malaysians for doing something within their rights, we'll get them," he said.

Uthayakumar was most recently instrumental in highlighting the case of police detainee G Francis Udayapan , whose body was found in the Klang River on May 23 after he purportedly escaped from the Brickfields district police headquarters in mid-April.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Lim said today that he had discussed the issue involving Uthayakumar at a meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"I had raised the case of Uthayakumar with Abdullah on May 11 and he undertook to refer the case to the inspector-general of police, and it is most regrettable that the case took a turn for the worse so swiftly," he said.

"The Police Royal Commission of Inquiry should address and resolve urgently and satisfactorily for the good name of the country, the reputation of the police as well as the safety and security of Uthayakumar."

Suhakam requests inquest

In a related move, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has asked the Attorney-General's Chambers for an inquest to be held into the death of Udayapan.

"Suhakam has contacted the AG's Chambers and requested that an inquest be held to ascertain the real reasons behind the death," Suhakam officer Jamaludin Othman said in a letter obtained by malaysiakini.

The letter, dated June 3 and addressed to Suaram, said the police were still in the midst of investigating the death and that the investigation papers would be handed to the AG.

Udayapan's family has yet to claim his body from the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre morgue, pending receipt of the post-mortem report. They are disputing the police version of his death, but a federal police investigating team has cleared Brickfields police of foul play in the matter.