Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) was delivered another blow today when a top government official said it must learn to look at Malaysia from a local perspective and not simply dish out 'western-influenced' recommendations.

Parliamentary secretary in the Prime Minister's Department Noh Omar said the commission should base its findings in relation to the internal security in the country and not use international standards as a benchmark.

If the recommendations are based on the latter then "everything we do would be wrong", argued Noh who told reporters that as a Malaysian he felt sad when reading the commission's findings in the media.

Noh, who is Tanjung Karang member of parliament, also criticised the commission for releasing the report to the media before presenting it in Parliament.

On Monday, Suhakam released a 66-page report on last year's aborted 100,000 People's Gathering along the Kesas Highway.

The hard-hitting report found the police guilty of brutality and violations of human rights.

Among others, it urged the police not to resort to violence when handling peaceful demonstrators and to be more lenient regarding the issuance of police permits for public gatherings.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad criticised the commission, claiming that the report was influenced by the west.

The premier also defended police actions saying that by comparison to the police in the West, Malaysian police were much more responsible.

Following the premier's criticism, Suhakam commissioner Anuar Zainal Abidin retaliated, saying that human rights were a universal matter and comparisons should not be drawn.

Open government

Meanwhile, Noh who was speaking at a media conference after delivering a talk at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) also defended the police and credited them for their service to the country.

"Suhakam's recommendations will only serve to lower the morale of the police force," he complained.

Asked if the government would accept the recommendations, he replied that the government was not bound to do so but "we will look into the matter because this government is an open government".

After the report was released, commissioner Mehrun Siraj said more than 300 copies would be made available to parliamentarians next month.

Copies have also been sent to the Home Ministry, which is in charge of the police, as well as the Foreign Ministry.

The report is the result of a four-month long inquiry. The panel, consisting of commissioners Anuar Zainal Abidin, Simon Sipaun and Mehrun, heard the accounts of 46 witnesses including 16 police personnel.

The report is the commission's third report. It released its annual report in April and another report on freedom of assembly earlier this month. Both reports have also elicited strong criticisms from the government members.