THE Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will submit to the Attorney-General’s Chambers a proposal to make it mandatory for Putrajaya to implement its recommendations.

Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph said the proposal has been given to the Institutional Reform Committee (IRC) for action.

“We want the Suhakam Act amended so that it will be mandatory for the government to take action on the matter.

“If the government is not able to do it, they should come back to us with a reason,” he said after the launch of the Suhakam annual report in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said several recommendations have been made to the IRC, with amending the Suhakam Act among them.

“This is what a commission should be able to do (action taken upon its recommendation).

“We also hope that the government will debate the proposed recommendations in Parliament.”

Suhakam chairman Razali Ismail said he is disappointed that despite there being a new government in place, the tabling of the commission’s 2017 annual report in Parliament, already overdue, was not treated as a priority.

“It was finally tabled on December 10. We understand that there was a lot to do in terms of the new government settling in, but we cannot help questioning if there was a trade-off, where human rights took a backseat.”

He said Pakatan Harapan, since its days of being the opposition, has prided itself on its efforts to champion human rights and uphold the rule of law.

“We hope that the annual report will be looked at seriously, although, from a frank exchange with the de facto law minister recently, it appears that human rights are on the back-burner in our new, seemingly constrained environment.”

There seems to be no minister or government department for human rights, added Razali.

“This can be an indication of a lack of ownership when it comes to human rights. This puts us in a state of uncertainty… particularly when parliamentary liaising is concerned, in the context of the annual report.

“Nevertheless, for 2017, Suhakam is happy to say that it was viewed more positively, and we think we have been more effective in our public engagements, despite unfavourable developments in the overall human rights environment.” – December 18, 2018.