Last week, Aliran president P. Ramakrishnan said that while the list of members of the commission's announced by the Foreign Ministry showed an impressive array of names, many Malaysians would question what these members' credentials are in the field of human rights. ([#2] "Expand rights commission's powers"[/#] , April 3)

According to Musa, the commission "consists of a group of distinguished people".

Musa also said he had yet to read about the controversial "Justice in Jeopardy: Malaysia 2000" report. He, however, promised he will go through the report.

The report by a panel of international legal experts from the International Bar Association, the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the International Commission of Jurists, the Commonwealth Lawyer's Association and the Union Internationale des Avocats expressed serious concerns that the judiciary is not independent.

The 143-page report also highlighted a series of court cases which it said revealed that the legal system was being manipulated for political ends, including the defamation proceedings against lawyer Param Cumaraswamy, the judgement in the case of former DAP Kota Melaka MP Lim Guan Eng and the corruption trial of sacked deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. ([#2] "Malaysian judiciary attacked by international law bodies"[/#] , April 7)

Musa was speaking at a press conference after announcing the establishment of a new think tank, World Enterprise Institute, in Nikko Hotel in Kuala Lumpur today.

In his opening speech as chairman of the think-tank's council, Musa said that "Malaysia needs to preserve and nurture the diversity of voices to ensure that all ideas see the light of day."

He added he is a persistent believer in this concept to the point of being considered as a "nuisance" by some quarters.

World Enterprise Institute is an independent, non-partisan entity that engages in public policy research and promotes the development of the knowledge-economy.

Among the fellows of the institute are Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's economist Rajah Rasiah, Universiti Sains Malaysia lecturer Dr Subramaniam Pillay, who is also an Aliran committee member, and head of International Movement for a Just World Dr Farish A Noor, a regular malaysiakini columnist.

When approached by malaysiakini for an interview, Musa said he could only do this after his first meeting with his commission members.

"I read malaysiakini everyday," he quipped.