The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) is irked with the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak, for denying visits to the group of students detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for alleged links with the regional Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Suhakam complaints and inquiries working group chairperson Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan said Section 4(3) of the Human Rights of Malaysia Act 1999 clearly states that the head of a detention centre cannot refuse a visit by the commission if all the legal procedures are complied with.

"(Our) attempts to meet the students have so far been unsuccessful despite the provision of the Suhakam Act," he said in a statement.

At the same time, Hamdan welcomed the recent release of four students from ISA detention by the Home Ministry on Nov 24 as "a positive step towards respecting human rights".

Two students still under police custody have decided not to pursue the matter while the remaining seven filed a writ of habeas corpus last month.

"Suhakam looks forward to the review of the fate of the remaining nine students still being detained, especially 17 year-olds Nurul Mohd Fikri Mohd Safar and Faiz Hassan Kamarulzaman," said Hamdan.

Ensure full compliance

He said the government should ensure full compliance with the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in the case of the remaining nine students.

The United Nations instrument, provides for the deprivation of a child's liberty "only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time", particularly pre-trial detention, he said.

Furthermore, added Hamdan, the related domestic law - Child Act 2001 - states that the arrest, detention and trial of a person aged below 18 must be carried out according to its provisions.

When legal access was finally granted , lawyers had to meet the seven students in Kamunting under close supervision. The same happened a second time, prompting the lawyers to lodge a protest with the camp officials.

The Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) wants Suhakam to urge the police to allow for access to legal counsel.