MP laments anti-gov't slant of Suhakam commissioners
Commissioners of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) have been accused of siding with the opposition by a BN parliamentarian, who lamented today they were misusing their privileges and protection under the law to attack the government.
Commissioners of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) have been accused of siding with the opposition by a BN parliamentarian, who lamented today they were misusing their privileges and protection under the law to attack the government.
"Because of this (protection) under the law as read out by the minister, what if the commissioners criticise the government?
"...helping the Opposition on issues that can topple the government... What action can be taken against them as their immunity is so strong?" asked Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat.
Marcus (left) asked the supplementary question after Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said in reply to his original question that Section 18(1),(2),(3) and (4) of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 protects the commissioners from any civil or criminal action when discharging their duties.
Nazri said the government had no problem with Suhakam criticising it and that the ruling government did not see the commissioners as a threat to it.
'They must be given room to do their job'
"If the criticisms are made on human rights concerns, which in their judgment have been breached, the government has no problem.
"It is not possible for a commission to topple the government, which is strong and stable."
The minister said the commissioners were appointed to do their jobs and should be given room to do so, even if they ended up criticising the government.
If the criticism was found to be true, Nazri said, the government would take action as it was serious in upholding human rights.
So much so, Nazri said, that he was mulling a proposal to set up a permanent parliamentary select committee on human rights, similar to the Public Accounts Committee.
This he added, would be to prove how serious the government was about human rights and so that such concerns would not be relegated to one-off debates and discussions but become a framework integral to Malaysian governance.
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