Abu Talib should announce the human rights vision and  policy directions of Suhakam in the next two years after the first Suhakam working meeting tomorrow 

(Petaling Jaya,  Sunday):  The new Suhakam Chairman, Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman should announce the human rights vision and policy directions of Suhakam in the next two years after the first Suhakam working meeting tomorrow. 

Among the issues Abu Talib must clarify are seven matters which are  important tests of the credibility, legitimacy and integrity of the second-term Suhakam, viz:  

• Whether Suhakam would reaffirm its statement of 11^th April 2001 that the Internal Security Act (ISA) is a violation of fundamental human rights and call for the immediate release of the six reformasi activists, Mohamad Ezam Mohamad Nor, Hishamuddin Rais, Chua Tian Chang, Saari Sungib, Badrulamin Bahron under the ISA;  
• Whether the Complaints and Inquiries Working Group would hold its first public inquiry into the ISA detention of the six reformasi activists as decided by the first-term Suhakam last month. 
•  Whether the second-term Suhakam is prepared to take a bold and correct decision, which would go a long way to restore the shattered public confidence in the second-term Suhakam, by dealing with the biggest failure of the first-term Suhakam and hold a public inquiry into the Kampong Medan racial attacks in March last year which claimed six lives and injured some hundred people.  
• Whether Suhakam will hold an inquiry into the high-handed  police actions, arrests and brutalities  against workers at the peaceful  May Day gathering at  the Kuala Lumpur City Centre.  
• Whether Suhakam is prepared to set up a new Working Group on  Press Freedom to arrest the alarming erosion of the rights to freedom of speech, expression and the press particularly in the past year, to receive and investigate complaints by journalists as well as Malaysians on violations of press freedom as well as freedom of speech and expression.   
• What is the status of the Suhakam inquiry into the Sarawak Native Customary Rights (NCR) land controversy led by Datuk Dr. Salleh Mohd Nor, which was to be ready to be made public in February this year  and whether the report was being watered down because of strong objections from the Sarawak state government  resulting in the axing of Salleh from the new Suhakam appointments.  
• What is the outcome of Suhakam investigations into complaints of alleged mismanagement of campus elections by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in November last year and what action Suhakam has taken to protect the student-complainants from victimization of the UTM authorities.

(19/5/2002)