A recommendation is but a recommendation by any other name.

The government, says a human rights group, seems to mistakenly believe in having yet another commission to issue recommendations oblivious to the already long chain of existing commissions and recommendations.

"When and where will this chain end?" asked S Arutchelvan, co-ordinator for human rights movement Suaram.

"Setting up (another) new commission to make new recommendations would not materialise (any benefit) if there is no political will to implement them," he said in a statement today.

He was commenting on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's announcement of an independent body to investigate the case of a woman allegedly forced to do ear-squats in the nude while in police custody.

All of the five commissioners ( right ) appointed for the new agency were also in the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police, which had issued its recommendations seven months ago.

The earlier commission's main proposal, calling for an independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission, has yet to be taken out of cold storage, pointed out Arutchelvan.

This is on top of the "many recommendations made by the Suhakam (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia) previously," he added.

"We are not excited with the setting up of this recent independent commission. We call upon the prime minister to act on the issues and not just manage them cosmetically."

'Have more faith'

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz, however, asked the public to have more faith in the new commission and to await the results.

"With the appointment of this independent body, then it means (the principle) that 'justice should not only be done but should be seen to be done' is fulfilled," he told reporters after officiating a conference on 'Good governance, democracy and Asean' held in Kuala Lumpur today.

"Let's allow them to do their job. I will believe in any outcome because I believe they are truly independent. They are not here to whitewash anything," he said.

"Once they have their findings, surely, if there has been an offence on the part of the police, surely there will be recommendations for action to be taken," he added.

Nazri, who also heads the Parliamentary Human Rights Caucus, denied the need for the commission to conduct its hearings in an open court.

"We're going to have to trust them, and we trust them, and I trust them that they will give a fair hearing. Whatever findings (are reached) will be given to the public, and that includes members of Parliament," he said.

"At the moment, they've got a specific job to do. There's no need to jump the gun. We'll wait for the findings of the investigations," he added.