THE appointments of the new Suhakam commissioners by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong upon the recommendation of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently have surely not gone unnoticed by the people.  

But have the appointments made measure up to Suhakam’s tagline?

Suhakam is an acronym for Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia, and its tagline is “Hak Asasi Untuk Semua”. To translate it into English would be “Human Rights For All”.  

Suhakam is an independent body, which is set up to work on its own without being influenced by anyone.

As suggested by Hafiz Hassan, in his article, the list of appointed commissioners should have included persons who have judicial experience and background.

Once again, we are reminded of the function that Suhakam holds. It holds the duty to promote awareness and provide education in relation to human rights.

The protection of basic human rights is enshrined in our Federal Constitution. This falls under part II of the Federal Constitution. These rights are something that cannot be taken away from anyone. They are inalienable.

Malaysia has been elected by the United Nations Human Rights Council, after winning one of 18 seats with a vote of 183, for the term 2022-2024.

Thus, it’s the duty of the appointed commissioners to uphold our fundamental rights, and the protection of inclusiveness in all aspects. We are signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. Thus, it’s prudent for us to adhere to it.

However, let’s not forget that Suhakam must comply with the Paris Principles that were adopted by the United Nations in 1991. It is the international benchmark for the establishment of a national human rights institution. Having said that, we were once warned in 2008 about the possibility of Malaysia losing its “A- status”, on the lack of insufficient information in the reports and determination to promote human rights.

Thus, are the appointed commissioners willing to work towards upholding Suhakam’s tagline? – July 6, 2022.

* Matilda George reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.