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©The Star (Used by permission)
by Shaila Koshy, Florence A. Samy and Nurbaiti Hamdan

• Hindraf wants Suhakam to explain role

KUALA LUMPUR: Some government agencies have tried to get Suhakam to let them see its annual report before it is tabled in Parliament but the national human rights institution has stood steadfast in refusing them.

Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman said they could not give in to such demands because that was contradictory to the Suhakam Act.

Refusing to name the agencies, he added that these bodies had even wanted to refer the matter to Cabinet.

“We said no. We will not budge from our stand. In the (Suhakam) Act (1999), we are independent in accordance with the Paris Principles.

“The law clearly says we must submit our report to Parliament and not to government agencies.

“They are trying to undermine Suhakam's independence.”

It was wrong for government agencies to treat Suhakam like any other statutory body because its responsibilities were different, he told reporters on the third day of the 13th Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions here.

Abu Talib said this when asked to comment on the opening address on Tuesday by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who had touched on the independence of Suhakam and calls to give it enforcement powers.

He urged the Government to seriously study the demands to amend the Suhakam Act 1999.

“Violation of human rights does not necessarily mean it is an offence under the country's law. If (the law) does not recognise the offence, then how do we (as a national human rights institution) take action?

“Currently, those who are violated can take civil action or make a police report. Only then will appropriate action be taken.”

He noted that the matter must be studied thoroughly so there was no overlapping of powers with other enforcement agencies.

Hindraf wants Suhakam to explain role

KUALA LUMPUR: Hindraf wants the participants of the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions (APF) to ask Suhakam – Malaysia’s human rights institution – to explain its role to them.

The group distributed a nine-page document titled, Suhakam: Malaysia’s Human Rights Omission, that was signed by Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy and which criticised Suhakam and the Government, to APF participants on Tuesday and yesterday.

Among the accusations was that Suhakam served as a tool of the Government and had covered-up matters to help the Government do damage control.

Waytha Moorthy also accused Suhakam of using Indian commissioners to “probe” Indian issues, only to mislead the community.

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