More than 900 court cases were filed by the public against 39 ministries and government departments between 1998 and 2002, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.

The Royal Malaysian Police faces 185 cases the highest number followed by the Health and Defence Ministries (89 each), Road Transport Department (71), and Human Resources Ministry (64).

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor revealed this when replying to a question from Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) during the question session.

He did not say which other ministries and departments were involved in the remaining cases although Fong had also inquired about these.

"Out of 907 cases brought against the government since 1998, only 106 cases have been solved," he said.

Credibility affected

In a supplementary question, Fong asked the deputy minister if the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) plans to conduct training to enhance the skills and standards of civil servants who have to deal with the public.

She commented that most of the cases allegedly involve abuse of power and carelessness, which could hurt the government's credibility.

In response, Tengku Adnan said Intan has always offered courses and training to government officers to improve their performance.

He said that although many cases have been brought against the government, there was no need to set up another court to clear the backlog.

"We have sufficient courts and they are given powers to handle all these cases. We are practising transparency in hearing all cases and following the law," he said.

Upgrade training

Speaking to malaysiakini later, Fong made several suggestions as to how the government could reduce the high number of court cases filed against it.

"Human rights education should be imposed, especially for police officers, and should involve long-term training, not short-term courses," she said.

She supported the call by Human Rights Commission of Malaysia chairperson Abu Talib Othman to incorporate human rights in the current education curriculum.

"This is good. It should start from primary level and extend to secondary and university level which will let the people know what should they do. This can help reduce (the number of) complaints lodged," she said.

The habit of not consulting the people when implementing any new policy or project has also contributed to complaints lodged against the government, Fong claimed.

She cited the example of a case in Gaya, Sabah, where the local authority's decision to fashion a street after Kuala Lumpur's 'Bintang Walk' has incurred the wrath of shopowners.

"For sure, they are angry and dissatisfied because this has caused a drop in business. The local government did not consult them before carrying out a project which affects them," she said.