The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has been directed to forward to Wisma Putra all its requests for information from government agencies, a commissioner said today.

The directive was revealed to journalists who were at the Suhakam headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to report o­n a follow-up dialogue with government officials o­n the controversial mega-incinerator project in Broga, Selangor.

The dialogue, arranged by Suhakam in response to complaints by residents opposed to the project, was however aborted when government officials did not turn up.

Proffering an explanation, Suhakam complaints and inquiry working group chairperson Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan said the commission had received a letter early this week informing them o­n the 'new' procedure.

"We have never received any such letter before and I don't know the reason behind it either. But we need to study the matter further," he told some 30 residents and journalists at the aborted dialogue.

The first session, held o­n Jan 31, was o­nly attended by officers from the Department of Environment and the Selangor government.

Asked if the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 allowed for such directives, he said: "That is precisely what we have to look at now because such a directive can be used as an excuse for government officials not to respond to our request, like today."

No provision

But such a directive may be unlawful as the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 does not provide for it.

What it does allow under Section 22 is for a minister to regulate Suhakam's affairs "for the purpose of carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of the act, including for prescribing the procedure to be followed in the conduct of inquiries".

However, no ministerial regulations have been made under this provision since Suhakam's inception more than three years ago.

On the other hand, if Suhakam has enough grounds for an inquiry, Section 12 provides for it to do so o­n its own motion or based o­n a complaint of alleged human rights infringements, including the gathering of information.

Attempts to contact Foreign Ministry officials for an immediate response failed as key officials were at a conference in Geneva while others were in a meeting. It is learnt that the directive was based o­n a recent cabinet decision.

Asked if previous criticisms against Suhakam for not being 'independent enough' have now been vindicated by the letter, Mohd Hamdan said: "I think you have to reach your own conclusion o­n that."

The directive is expected to be discussed at the commission's next meeting, held every first Monday of the month.

But whether or not the directive applies specifically to the Broga issue or is extended to all other government correspondence remains unclear.

When met after the dialogue, Suhakam secretary Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria refused to clarify the letter's contents, attributing them to "some miscommunication somewhere".

Pressed further for details, he said: "It was o­nly a small matter."

'We deserve better'

Asked about the aborted dialogue, Broga/Semenyih No Incinerator pro tem action committee chairperson Halil Hussain said he was o­nly told about the postponement at the last minute.

"We could not simply cancel the trip at the eleventh hour because most of us are working people and we had applied for leave to come all the way from Broga with the hope of meeting the officials," he said.

"I'm speechless and shocked at this new development."

Said a disappointed resident, KC Ooi: "Looks like Suhakam has no rights as well, just like us."

Another resident, Wong Yuen Mei ( photo ), said the government officials' absence was clearly a show of disrespect for Suhakam and the people.

"We are residents of Broga and citizens of Malaysia. We deserve to be treated better than this," she insisted.

To Hamdan's point that a court of public opinion was more important than a court of law, she said it was futile in this case because public opinion had gone missing due to the media blackout o­n this issue.

Another resident, Prof P Ramasamy ( photo ), asserted that the minimal requirement of democracy is public dialogue with the authorities and government.

"While the government is denying us this, it is also preaching to the US and the world about democracy," he noted with some irony.