The government was told to either allow the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to perform its duties without hindrance or shut it down.

"If you take the trouble to set up the commission, the commissioners must be allowed to do their work. But if you don't want the commission to do its job then you might as well close down Suhakam," said commissioner Mehrun Siraj when interviewed at the Suhakam headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

"We were set up by the government and were given a mandate to carry out our job which is provided for by the Human Rights Commission Act," said Mehrun.

Suhakam has come in for harsh criticisms from the government following the release of its landmark report on freedom of assembly.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad last Saturday criticised the 16-month-old human rights body, stating that the commission ignored issues of national security when it released its 32-page report on freedom of assembly on Friday.

In another report on Tuesday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim also joined the fray when he said the body should not "suggest that people should be holding assemblies or should be doing things which in its (Suhakam) opinion should be the order of the day".

Mehrun however maintains that the Human Rights Commission Act 1999, gives Suhakam advisory and recommendatory powers.

National security

Section 4 (1)(b) of the act stipulates that "in furtherance of the protection and promotion of human rights in Malaysia, the functions of the commission shall be to advise and assist the government in formulating legislation and administrative directives and procedures and recommend the necessary measures to be taken".

"We have not gone beyond that," Mehrun added.

Meanwhile, commissioner Hamdan Adnan who was also present at the meeting with the wives of the Internal Security Act detainees said that the police should be more open in terms of information pertaining to the arrest.

"We just want them to tell us the truth and not just hide behind the excuse of 'national security'. The use of the ISA is definitely an embarrassment to the government," he said.

Norian announced last Thursday that eight individuals, including a PAS Youth leader, had been arrested under the ISA, which allows detention without trial, for their alleged involvement in the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM).

According to him, KMM members had received training from the Mujahidin in Afghanistan.

The police chief also linked KMM to another group who the police said staged a botched bank robbery at the Southern Bank, Jalan Gasing branch last May and was involved in the killing of Joe Fernandez.

The arrests under the ISA since last week now stands at 10, including that of Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's son Nik Adli.

According to Mehrun, the complaints sent by the wives of the detainees would also be included in an upcoming inquiry into ISA arrests.

Petty crimes

In May a set of Keadilan and reformasi activist were arrested on similiar grounds for what police chief Norian termed as involvement in "a militant attempt to overthrow the government".

On a separate issue, commissioners Hamdan and Mehrun met juveniles detained at the Sungai Buloh prison at 10am this morning for two hours.

"The juveniles are alright but they should be sent to welfare homes instead of being held there. With the exception of religious classes, they have no proper access to education," Hamdan said.

Hamdan added that among the juveniles held there, totalling 251, some have been in remand for two years with their court cases set for 2002.

"The juveniles here have had their bail money set as high as RM4,000. There was a case of a juvenile caught for stealing a handphone and his bail was set at RM2,500.

"Most of these juveniles are from poor backgrounds and the bail has been too high. Most of the juveniles here are for petty crimes," Hamdan said adding that some of the juveniles were also held back at the prison for lack of legal representation.

"On September the Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Centre would be holding a fast track legal clinic for the juveniles. In October, both Suhakam and the legal aid centre would be having a meeting with the relevant authorities to urge them to act on these issues," Hamdan added.

According to him, prison facility was made to contain 2,500 inmates but now the prison holds approximately 3,500 inmates including juveniles. The wing can accommodate 450 juveniles but now holds 251 juveniles.