Human rights group Suaram today submitted a memorandum to the Home Ministry with its recommendations for the impending royal commission for the police force.

The eight-page memorandum recommended the government to consult NGOs, the national human rights commission (Suhakam) and civil society groups in formulating the royal commission.

"Public consultation to determine the mandate and terms of reference of the commission is essential. Only then will the public truly believe that the commission is independent and credible and will respect the commission's findings," said Suaram.

The memorandum also suggested that the commission comprises equal numbers of parliamentarians from both the government and opposition, as well as representatives from civil society groups.

Citing the appointment of Suhakam commissioners by the government as an example, Suaram said that the lack of consultation "immediately compromised the independence, credibility and authority of such an important institution".

"Ultimately, the police force is a public authority responsible to the people. It is crucial that public authorities remain accountable to the people and are not seen to be above the law," read the memorandum.

'Letting Pak Lah know'

Contacted later, Suaram Training and Human Rights Support coordinator S Arutchelvan said that eight members of the Suaram secretariat delivered the memorandum to the ministry.

"The new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said 'let me know', and 'work with me'. So Suaram stepped in to give him some suggestions," said Arutchelvan.

"We hope that with our memorandum, the government would take things more seriously and engage with civil society groups. We have taken the first step, and Suaram is most willing to help in (the formation and ensure the success) of the police royal commission," he added.

The memorandum was received by the ministry's confidential secretary Ahmad Haji Yaakob who also engaged in a 30 minute dialogue with the group.

According to Arutchelvan, Ahmad Yaakob said he would bring up the issues raised to the ministry and that he was confident capable people would be appointed to the commission.

Police unapproachable

The memorandum also mentioned that in Oct 2 1997, Suaram had along with eight other NGOs submitted a memorandum to the police, which responded to the various proposals made by the NGOs on Jan 21 1998.

A follow-up meeting was agreed upon but there was no initiative on the part of the police to continue with the dialogue, Suaram claimed.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that a Royal Commission to modernise the police force would be established.

Abdullah, who is also home minister, said that corrupt policemen, police brutality and poor service have undermined public confidence and tainted their image.

He also said that the police ought to reform their perception and adopt a "zero tolerance" approach to graft and be "empathetic" towards violent and sex crime victims.

Last week, Abdullah said that he would announce members of the royal commission soon. There is speculation that the commission would be chaired by former chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah.