Rights group wants Suhakam officials to resign over failure to probe ex-chief

National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioners are facing calls to resign or be removed due to its handling of complaints lodged against its former chairperson Rahmat Mohamad.

Rights group Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) said the commissioners’ failure to adequately investigate the complaints and later refer to the Prime Minister’s Department has caused concerns about Suhakam’s independence.

“Suhakam is Malaysia’s national human rights institution and it must always be independent and be seen to be independent, especially from the government.

“By asking a division in the Prime Minister’s Department to deal with the inquiry of a complaint submitted to Suhakam, it may give the wrong impression that Suhakam is under a division in the Prime Minister’s Department.

“With eight commissioners, the inquiry against even a fellow commissioner should still be done by Suhakam,” said Madpet spokesperson Charles Hector in a statement yesterday.

He was referring to Section 10 of the Suhakam Act which states that any commissioner who has misbehaved or conducted themselves in a manner to bring disrepute to the commission or in conflict with his duties as grounds for disqualification and removal from the position.

In this case, he said the commissioners failed in their duty to investigate the complaint against the former Suhakam chief commissioner.

Aside from that, Charles said Madpet is appalled that Rahmat has since been appointed as the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) advisory board chair on Aug 23.

Rahmat resigned from his position as Suhakam chairperson, effective Aug 31.

“Madpet is of the position that it is wrong for the minister or government to appoint a sitting Suhakam commissioner to another position, possibly one with allowances, remuneration, or powers.

“It is different if the appointment comes long after he ceases to be a commissioner but it is not the case here,” Hector said.

This affects the independence of Suhakam and the commissioners, he added.

Madpet also calls for an apology and explanation from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said over Rahmat’s appointment to the AIAC.

Rahmat’s position in the AIAC should also be immediately revoked in order to affirm the government’s acknowledgement that Suhakam is a truly independent institution, Hector said.

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