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KUALA LUMPUR: Engage in peaceful dialogues instead of resorting to street protests, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been told.

Advisory Council of Jurists (ACJ) president Datuk Ranita Hussein said it was necessary for NGOs and Suhakam, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, to engage in active dialogues to better understand each other's work.

“You don't have to shout loudly in the streets. Engage in a peaceful manner instead,” she told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, of which ACJ is part of.

Ranita said NGOs here were still overshadowed by politics and some were only politically linked but added that the Government was sometimes overly sensitive to criticisms.

Suhakam, she said, was in a complex situation as it was a “creature” between the Government and NGOs but had an important role as liaison between the two parties.

She said NGOs perceived Suhakam as being influenced by politics, which sometimes behaved according to the Government.

“Suhakam on the other hand finds that a lot of NGOs are not aware of what the Government is doing and vice versa,” she added.

Ranita also acknowledged the good work of some NGOs, especially those involved in women and children's rights and said dialogues were important when giving criticisms. She said NGOs should have hard facts to be effective and have research and supporting documents when making an allegation.

Later at a separate session, Suhakam commissioner Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Khim said that the commission was conscious of the need to preserve minority rights.

Commenting on a nine-page document circulated by Hindraf to the forum delegates on Wednesday, Dr Khoo said it took time for society to change, adding that it was difficult to build good relations with other races when the majority was still interested in their own ethnic interests.

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