Complaints pile up in empty Suhakam
A new rule that forces all commissioners to retire simultaneously has left the decade-old Malaysian Human Rights Commission, better known as Suhakam, bereft of people for the first time in its existence and causing complaints to pile up.
by G. Manimaran, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — A new rule that forces all commissioners to retire simultaneously has left the decade-old Malaysian Human Rights Commission, better known as Suhakam, bereft of people for the first time in its existence and causing complaints to pile up.
All 16 members had to resign last April 23 to enable a new line-up of commissioners to be named, but thus far, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has yet to announce the new appointments, which has lead to uneasiness among human rights activists.
The lack of commissioners came to light when Pakatan Rakyat Youth complained about the April 26 death of Aminulrasyid Amzah, three days after the entire commission quit in compliance with amendments to the Suhakam Act.
Three ex-commissioners — Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Datuk Dr Michael Yeoh and Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria — had to be drafted to a special Home Ministry panel to oversee investigations into the schoolboy’s shooting death.
“This is a tragedy,” former Suhakam commissioner Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam told The Malaysian Insider when commenting on the empty bench in the commission, which was previously led by former Attorney-General Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman.
It is understood the new rule came about when the Suhakam Act was amended last year in response to a threat of being downgraded from status “A” to “B” by an international group, which had urged for Suhakam’s independence to be strengthened by a clear and transparent “appointment/dismissal process”.
Najib has yet to announce a new Suhakam line-up. — file pic
“There should be continuity in the Suhakam leadership. I feel that the appointments should be done in stages, not all of them resigning because their terms have expired,” said Navaratnam, who served for two terms until 2008.
The retired civil servant said overlapping terms of office would prevent a vacuum in Suhakam and also enable new commissioners to learn from the “senior” ones. Each term of office is for two years.
Najib himself announced the appointment of the last line-up of 16 commissioners in April 2008, when he was the deputy prime minister.
