Human Rights Commission of Malaysia

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Malay: Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Malaysia) better known locally as SUHAKAM is the national human rights institution (NHRI) of Malaysia. It was established by the Malaysian Parliament under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, Act 597, and began its work in April 2000. Its mandate is to promote human rights education, advise on legislation and policy, and conduct investigations. For the period 2010-2013 the commission is headed by Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, a former diplomat.

Having been established after the fallout of the Anwar Ibrahim controversy, some lacked confidence in its independence from the government of the then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Muhammad. However, when Tan Sri Dato' Musa Hitam was named as the first chairman of the (initially, 13-member) commission, these fears were eased, as he was believed to be critical of Mahathir in many ways. The commission's recommendations under Musa, however, were often not implemented by the government. When his two-year term ended, he did not seek reappointment.

Musa was replaced with Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman in April 2002. Abu Talib had served as Attorney General under Mahathir, and was also involved in the Anwar Ibrahim controversy. As reported in Malaysiakini, he was widely seen as close to Mahathir, but SUHAKAM under Abu Talib continued to put forth many human rights recommendations. Many of these recommendations have yet to be acted upon by the government.

SUHAKAM was accredited as a full "A status" member of the Asia Pacific Forum (APF), the regional network of NHRIs, and has since been reaccredited by the International Co-ordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) to which the APF now defers on accreditation.

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