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Suhakam should be innovative, creative and courageous to make a difference in the protection and promotion of human rights in Malaysia - as in publishing a monthly bulletin on the human rights situation in the country to spark constant national debate and pressure Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya, Wednesday): Suhakam chairman, Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman said yesterday that the people, not just their elected representatives, have the right to express views that are opposed to the Government; that no one should have a monopoly over information and that "a healthy public and private debate on issues could help to develop sound policies for the country". (The Star) These are very noble and worthy sentiments and sweet words. The function and responsibilities of Suhakam and its chairman, however, are not to make trite statements but to make a difference for the people and the country in the promotion and protection of human rights in Malaysia. Abu Talib's paper yesterday on the political outlook in post-Mahathir era Malaysia organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) is also quite meaningless, as he seems to be unaware that it is not just the people, but even elected representatives with dissenting or contrary opinions who have been denied the right to express views in the public domain, especially in the mass media, whether printed or electronic, buttressed by draconian laws like the Official Secrets Act, the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Internal Security Act, the Police Act, etc. which he, when he was Attorney-General, had no hesitation in invoking and prosecuting without regard to human rights considerations. Furthermore, the problem of monopoly of information is today in the worst position ever in the 45-year history of the nation, despite the establishment of Suhakam, the advent of ICT and the information age as illustrated by the absence of professional and independent journalism and reporting of vibrant diversity of views on important public issues and developments, whether the RM10 billion Valuecap operation to use public funds to prop up the share market or the worst dengue epidemic in the nation's history which claimed over 72 lives and reported over 30,000 cases last year. While fully conscious of the constraints and limitations faced by Suhakam, the country and people have high expectations of Suhakam that it could be innovative, creative and courageous to make a difference in the protection and promotion of human rights in Malaysia. Has Abu Talib fulfilled the people's expectations and has he made a difference in the promotion and protection of human rights in his nine months as Suhakam chairman? Abu Talib is fully justified in returning to his pet complaint against Members of Parliament for not debating the Annual Reports of Suhakam tabled in Parliament, although both reports were for the first two years under the first Suhakam chairman, Tan Sri Musa Hitam, but he undermined his own human rights credentials when he said in the same breath that "Malaysia is firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights on the basis of its commitment to the United Nations Charter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948". If the Malaysian government is indeed so committed to human rights and the UDHR, then the failings of MPs to debate the Suhakam annual reports would not be so heinous - but it is not only Malaysians, but even the world knows that the Malaysian Prime Minister and his government have staked a position questioning the universal validity and application of the UDHR. MPs can in fact counter by questioning Suhakam's commitment to parliamentary democracy and human rights when it failed to make available to Parliament and to the people its report to the government containing recommendations for amendments to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, purportedly to overcome the limitations of the existing rule. But the greatest test of Suhakam is whether it has made any difference in the promotion and protection of human rights after nearly three years of existence. One way Suhakam can make a difference in human rights in Malaysia is to publish a monthly bulletin on the human rights situation in the country to spark constant national debate and pressure, taking positions on the current human rights issues of the month. For instance, the current human rights issues which Suhakam should take a position include: Call on the government to drop charges against Tenaganita director, Irene Fernandez, under Section 8A(2) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 for "maliciously publishing false news" after she released a memorandum at a press conference in August 1995 about alleged torture and deaths in the camps for illegal immigrants. Call on the Registrar of Societies to respect and uphold the UDHR and approve the registration of Parti Sosialis Malaysia. Call on the government to introduce a Whistleblowers Act to fight corruption and abuses of power and to protect those people who bring to the public's attention any matters which are contrary to the public interest. Time's "Persons of the Year" honoured three whistleblowers, Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley, and Sherron Watkins exposing the corporate scandals in the United States, In Malaysia, three Sabahans are arrested under the Official Secrets Act in connection with leakage of information about state government corruption over logging. What is Suhakam's position on these three issues to make a difference for human rights in Malaysia? (15/1/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman