The question uppermost in the minds of Malaysians is whether the continuation for another term of former Attorney-General Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman as the Suhakam chairman is an omen that Suhakam will be reduced to a pale shadow of its present role – which is already a far cry from national expectations.
It is clear that SUHAKAM needs to do much more if the dire situation of human rights is to be reversed. There are many pressing issues to be addressed.
SUHAKAM should immediately and seriously carry out the following actions:
Parliament should amend laws to bring the ‘Malaysian definition of human rights’ in line with universally recognised human rights standards.
The Government should ratify the various UN covenants and international instruments relating to human rights.
Parliament should annul the four proclamations of states of emergency, and, Parliament should review harsh and coercive statutes, and repeal entire laws or relevant portions of pertinent laws, so as to guarantee Malaysian citizens the broadest range of human rights as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other related international instruments.
SUHAKAM should be mindful of what the public expects!!
It should be:
Accessible to the public, and particularly to victims of infringements of human rights, by various means, including:
Maintaining an open working environment that encourages regular interface with the public adopting informal and flexible, not bureaucratic or legalistic, guidelines for making and lodging complaints of human rights violations decentralising its structure to prevent SUHAKAM from becoming just a Peninsular Malaysia- or Kuala Lumpur-centric institution, and, devolving its power so that SUHAKAM can more quickly and effectively reach particularly vulnerable sectors of Malaysian society which are often found at grassroots level
Responsive to complainants who report infringements and violations of human rights, among other things, by:
attending promptly to complainants and informing them of Suhakam’s decision and plan of action helping complainants do what is necessary to lodge complaints and reports of human rights infringements and violations, and, recommending remedial action as soon as it is clear that complainants require redress or assistance that cannot await a protracted investigation
Transparent in its proceedings so as to ensure:
that ‘justice is done and seen to be done’ in cases of human rights violations
the highest possible level of exposure of human rights infringements an increased public awareness of the need and the means available to check the erosion of human rights in the country, and, the widest possible mobilization of public support in defence of human rights
Accountable in its judgments and findings in order to establish:
proper bases and precedents for understanding and dealing with human rights violations clear criteria for reviewing and/or appealing decisions taken on cases of human rights infringements, and, consistency in abiding by universally recognized human rights standards
Pro-active in its investigations and activities so that SUHAKAM will:
of its own volition conduct inquiries into human rights infringements and violations
retain an active stance and not end up as a passive repository of complaints
demonstrate an independent scope of action, free of Government prompting, priority or position, and, take the lead in protecting human rights.
Suhakam should continue to be vigilant and speak out without fear or favour whenever there is any violation of human rights.
Abu Talib’s appointment as Suhakam Chairman has rightly and naturally aroused reservations about the credibility and independence of Suhakam as his 14-year tenure as Attorney-General 1980-1993 had been marked by several controversies which raised disturbing questions about his credibility, independence and integrity, viz:
The RM2.5 billion Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal, in failing to initiate any prosecutions to allow it to become “a heinous crime without criminals”;
His abject defence of the Internal Security Act and the 1987 Operation Lalang mass arrests, even claiming that the police remand holding centres for the detainees were like “a three-star hotel”;
His role in the sacking of Tun Salleh Abas as Lord President and two Supreme Court judges, Tan Sri Wan Suleiman Pawanteh and Datuk George Seah in 1988 which plunged the country into an unprecedented crisis of the judiciary; and
His 1989 directive to destroy eleven videotapes and four envelopes of 2,000 photographs in the Vijandran pornographic videotape scandal.
Abu Talib has not played his role as SUHAKAM chairman to openly express his protest for the Suhakam's position that detention-without-trial laws like the Internal Security Act constitutes a gross human rights violation and should be repealed.
Excerpts from: Lim Kit Siang & Aliran
PEOPLE'S POWER
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