The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) declined to comment on the current "disputes" between the judiciary, the Bar and the executive but planned to have a meeting with the judges soon.

Suhakam chairman Musa Hitam told journalists today that he was not prepared to involve the commission in the entanglement between the Bar Council and the judiciary.

"We're only commenting on the exchange between the government and the Bar Council," he said, adding that they (the commissioners) were only briefed on the issue and can only give a word of encouragement (to the parties involved).

Musa said that the "the exchanges" between the parties involved, such as the Mingguan Malaysia 's interviews yesterday with the Bar Council president Sulaiman Abdullah and de facto law minister RaisYatim as "a development that will help everyone".

He said that "incidentally", Suhakam will meet with up with the judges "soon enough".

"Besides the government, we had met the Bar Council (today), maybe if we have the opportunity or given the opportunity, we'll like to have a chat with the judiciary..., so we'll have an overview of the situation," Musa said.

Suhakam today also officially launched its complaint procedure, which is the brainchild of commissioner Mehrun Siraj.

The complaint procedure defines the various types of complaints the commission can inquire into, the ways to submit complaints, the criteria for complaints admissibility and the process of inquiry itself. ("[#1] Suhakam complainants' identities will be kept secret[/#] ", May 29)

The procedure did not differ much from the original proposal as reported by malaysiakini . However, now it has a "clear but unrestrictive definition" to the term "human rights" and explained the limitations of Suhakam according to Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999.

The guidelines, according to Mehrun, are not meant to deter people from making complaints but to improve the complaint-making process by having a systematic procedure.