Mondays at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will never be the same again. It was on Monday mornings that (the late) vice-chairperson Harun Hashim would come through the glass doors of the 30th floor of the office in Menara Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.

In a resounding voice that echoed through the hallway, he would call out "Good morning, Sabariah", regardless of whoever else was nearby. She was his personal assistant and had known him for years, from the days of the Harun Commission.

On Sept 30, Harun passed away after suffering a heart attack the night before.

Judges have said their say about him, and about his judgments and sense of justice. Interviewed at the funeral, former Court of Appeal president Lamin Yusof had said, "He had presence."

At Suhakam, we will henceforth feel his absence more so, every Monday.

"Mondays are purely for Suhakam," he would say, a reflection of the importance he placed on allocating time for human rights on the first working day of the week.

We all knew without even having to ask Sabariah that he was available for us on Mondays from 9am to 4.30pm unless he was abroad or at some conference delivering a speech.. He never said 'No' to anyone who invited him to deliver his thoughts on human rights or other subjects.

Intellectual sharing

To us at Suhakam he came across as a very normal person with very normal gifts, but on a great scale - all knit together in loose and natural form. He bound us to him with respect. He never assumed an air of importance. That was the most significant thing about him.

His felicity consisted not in the outward and visible blessings of fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind. He was happy with whatever little we did for him and he increased our inborn worth.

Harun was the embodiment of human rights and all that it stands for. He believed in its existence and through him we knew human rights existed.

His last article published in the New Straits Times column 'Bench Mark' on Oct 2 was headlined 'Human rights not really a Western invention'. It was poignant, revealing his thoughts on human rights even as he left us.

He had spoken on the same issue on Sept 22 when a group of law undergraduates from UiTM visited Suhakam.

Since they had 30 minutes at their disposal, Suhakam secretary Kamaruddin Mohd Baria approached Harun to explain human rights to the students. As expected, he obliged happily, starting with "It's always a pleasure to be with young people."

His speeches were almost always impromptu ones and were the touchstone of wit, injected with historical anecdotes. These inevitably included elements of discipline, goodwill and respect for other people's rights, comfort and feelings.

We viewed his stories as the entrance into the joy of intellectual experience and an acquaintance with the best that has been said and done.

Faith in justice

Harun was strong in the practice of human rights on that score, eulogy is neither needed nor expected.

We feel honoured to have had him as our vice-chairman. He had a steadfast and abiding faith in justice, righteousness and liberty as the prevailing force in the conduct of states.

He felt that justice and righteousness were sure to prevail wherever any people live in perfect liberty.

It is for the rest of us to be committed to the unfinished work that Harun has advanced. We need to increase our dedication to the cause to which he gave the last full measure of devotion.

I am fully convinced that the soul is indestructible and that his contributions will continue through eternity.

In our eyes, the sun appears to set in the evening but, in reality, it only diffuses its light elsewhere through the night.

Harun's immortality does not lie in any one of his achievements, but in his attitude towards humanity.

He touched us all in one way or other, for he was above all, an honest and just man.

KAMALA PILLAI is legal officer at Suhakam.