A rights group today criticised the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) for allegedly misleading the nation by stating that there were no human rights violations in immigration detention camps.

Labour rights organisation Tenaganita said that, Suhakam was instead doing less to protect human rights violations when its makes statements on camp conditions without taking into consideration weaknesses in its own investigative methods.

"[M]ore than a month [after] the horrific conditions and mode of deportation were highlighted by the media and the governments and non-government organisations of the Philippines and Indonesia, did Suhakam expect to see the same conditions? Is this naivete or dancing to the tune of the state?" questioned Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez.

She said Suhakam commissioners seem to need upgrading of their skills in investigation of human rights violations.

"There is indeed a need to be less bureaucratic and more people-centred," said Fernandez in a press statement today.

Rights not infringed

Last week, Suhakam commissioner Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan was quoted in newspapers as saying that he found that basic human rights of immigration camp detainees were not infringed.

"I found the detention centre to be decent enough for the detainees, with sufficient food and water provided to them. There was a van on standby 24 hours a day to bring the sick to the hospital," he said after visiting the first of three detention camps in Sabah.

However, his observations were strongly criticised by Fernandez who pointed out that Hamdan had failed to take into consideration the fact that detainees may find it difficult to make complaints in the presence of camp officials.

"Did Hamdan expect to see a young girl being raped by a police officer in the detention camp? Did he expect to see police officers kicking and beating children or detainees while he visited the camp?

"Did he expect the detainees to confess to him about torture and conditions in the camps in the presence of police officers? What are the human rights violations he is speaking about and what were his objectives when he visited the camps?" she asked.

Learn from the Philippines

Fernandez also noted that the weaknesses of Suhakam's investigative methods were revealed by the testimony of Keadilan leader and former Internal Security Act detainee N Gobalakrishnan during a forum on the evaluation of Suhakam organised by Era Consumer last week.

Gobalakrishnan had said that, when he was taken to meet with Suhakam commissioners, an officer who had slapped and tortured him during police interrogation had sat next to him.

"The only thing the commission asked me was whether my food was okay," he said.

Meanwhile, Fernandez also welcomed Suhakam's agreement to work with the Philippines Human Rights Commission to investigate claims of ill-treatment by Filipino immigrants, as reported in newspapers last week.

"Suhakam should learn more from the Philippine Commission which has learnt its own lessons and gained tremendous experience in realising human rights protection," she stated.

Hamdan could not be reached for comments.

Suhakam's investigation into the conditions at Sabah detention camps came after allegations of ill-treatment of detainees surfaced during the mass deportations of illegal immigrants to neighbouring Philippines.

In the midst of the diplomatic row that followed, several quarters including the Philippine government, Sabah authorities and Suhakam officials have launched their own investigations into the allegations.

To date, all parties have expressed their satisfaction with the conditions within the immigration detention centres.