suhakam

Malaysian rights body accused of sidelining ethnic Indians

KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (AFP) - An opposition group Friday accused Malaysia's human rights body of discriminating against ethnic Indians after it refused to hold an inquiry into last month's clashes between Indians and Malays.
The Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (PRIM) has urged the government-appointed National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to investigate claims that police did not properly protect Indians during the clashes.

Five Indians and an Indonesian were killed during four days of violence that broke out March 8 in a poor area west of Kuala Lumpur. Fifty people were injured and some 315 arrested.

The largely Malay police force has strongly denied showing any favouritism. Many of those arrested are Malays.

Suhakam commissioner Anuar Zainal Abidin told PRIM at a meeting Friday it had decided not to hold an inquiry into the matter. He did not give any reasons.

PRIM secretary-general P. Uthayakumar said the party was disappointed and dissatisfied with Suhakam's decision.

He said Suhakam appeared to be holding "selective inquiries" that catered for the majority Malays, such as its inquiry into claims of police abuses during a November 5 rally by supporters of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

"There are six people killed and 50 injured in the (ethnic) clashes which is a more serious case and warrants urgent attention. By refusing to hold an inquiry, Suhakam is sidelining the minority Indians," he told reporters.

No one at Suhakam was available for comment.

Thursday April 19

Human Rights Commission or human rights ommission?
P Ramasamy

10:25am, Thu: Suhakam, Malaysia’s much publicised human rights commission might not have been long in existence, but it has certainly shown that it is simply pathetic in resolving basic human rights issues.

In reality, it’s merely a glorified non-performing organisation that has been set up by the government so that the country could reap some preferential benefits from the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Beyond that, it serves no purpose and it will be of no big loss to Malaysians if Suhakam ceases to exist.

Whatever the reasons behind the formation of this commission, one thing is clear - it is not unduly concerned about the abuse of human rights in the country. There are number of reasons for this.

First, the composition of this commission reflects that persons who are in charge are not really individuals who have gained the trust and respect in the eyes of Malaysians in general.

Its chairman and former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam, may not be in the government today, but to Malaysians he is yet to clear his name over the Memali incident.

There are others in the commission who are not really known for their fervour and enthusiasm in championing human rights in the country.

Second, the commission seems to be more of a formal facade to please the developed countries that Malaysia pays serious attention to human rights issues.

Third, the commission has no real power to influence the government to take corrective steps. Even the police do not care much about the commission and this is why the former has failed to cooperate with the latter on many issues.

In the recent past, the nature and manner of function of the commission left much to be desired. While the commission displayed some sensitivity in holding an inquiry into the 50,000 People’s gathering at Kesas highway, it has been quite callous in dismissing the Petaling Jaya Selatan communal clashes.

In the case of the Kesas highway affair, a number of demonstrators as well as certain police officers were interviewed and questioned. But when some groups asked the commission to institute an inquiry into the Petaling Jaya Selatan episode, it was turned down.

Selective list

The reasoning from the commission as reported in the local newspapers was that since the police and the court are performing their duties, there was no need for an inquiry.

Apparently, it seems the commission has a very selective list of incidents on which it might or might not hold inquiries.

While there were no fatalities in the Kesas incident, six were killed and nearly 50 people were seriously injured in the racial strife which rocked Petaling Jaya Selatan.

Is it because most of the dead and those injured happen to be members of the working class of a marginalised ethnic community? Or is it because the commission has been directed by its political bosses not do so?

Of course, the very existence of the commission and its function has been reduced to nothing by the arrests of seven individuals under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last week.

It seems obvious that the government and the police basically rode roughshod over the commission in ordering these arrests. Very significantly, the commission has been given a hard slap on the face by the government.

To date, the commission’s response to these arrests has been rather feeble and pathetic. Unable to confront the government over the detention, it has merely sought to accept the memorandum from groups who have protested it.

If the members of the commission have any decency or pride, the best option is to tend their resignations so that the government would know their exact stand. But unfortunately, given the nature of the commission’s composition, it would be very unlikely the members would resign as a result of this insult by the regime.

Anyway, in Malaysia, there is a culture that prevents persons from official positions to tend their resignations, something learned from the practice of government leaders.

Suhakam is a new organisation in Malaysia formed to advise the government on how to improve the human rights situation in the country. However, its brief existence has shown that it can hardly function in an hostile environment where there is hardly any democracy and basic respect for human beings.

Fire-fighting machine

But as an organisation formed and staffed by the government with persons without any track record in human rights, the organisation as a whole is unprepared to deal with the violation of such rights in the country.

It tends to gloss over racial discrimination, racial attacks and the blatant use of the ISA in curbing the rights of Malaysians wishing to improve the democratic space in the country. In the final analysis, the commission seems to beholden to those who are responsible for its formation.

It is not that we do not need a human rights commission, but we require one that will be staffed by persons who are independent and with a proven track record in championing human rights in the country.

Appointments should not be made by the government alone, but jointly with the involvement of political parties and organisations who are quite independent of the government.

Unless this is done, the present commission will lack the legitimacy and tenacity to meet and tackle various human rights abuses in the country.

Rather than responding as a ‘fire-fighting machine’, the commission should adopt an independent course in conceptualising and resolving problems of human rights from a broader perspective.

Right now, it is best for the commission members to tend their resignation for the sake of human rights!

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P RAMASAMY is a professor of political economy at the Political Science Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and has academic interests in Malaysian politics and labour. He has written quite extensively and is currently focusing on conflict management in Sri Lanka.