Tuesday May 13, 2008

Make royal commission’s findings public fast, Government urged

By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: Suhakam has called on the Government to quickly make public the report of the Royal Commission Inquiry into the Lingam Video Clip.

Noting that the five-man panel had presented its report to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin on Friday morning, Suhakam vice-chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun said the findings were of great public interest because the hearing itself was public.

Commission chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor had said after handing over the four-volume, 186-page report to the King at Istana Negara that it was his opinion that the report should go to the public, “but it is up to the Prime Minister”.

However. Sipaun said yesterday that the decision to release the report to the public must be made by the Royal Commission itself.

On the recent move to invoke the Sedition Act in “certain matters,” Sipaun implored the authorities to uphold Article 8 of the Federal Constitution - which calls for equal treatment under the law - if at all they found the use of the Act necessary.

Asked to clarify what the cases Suhakam was referring to, commissioner Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the most recent were the investigations into DAP chairman Karpal Singh and Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

Karpal Singh had questioned the action of the Perak Sultan in ordering the Perak Mentri Besar to reinstate immediately the religious department head; and Raja Petra had implied in an article on his website that the deputy prime minister and his wife were involved in the death of Mongolian Altantunya Shaaribuu.

On whether its call for equality was in reference to the lack of investigation into Umno politicians who had challenged the act of the Sultan of Terengganu - currently the King - in refusing to accept Umno’s choice for mentri besar and appointing his own, Shafee replied: “The comparison was not to anything specific.”

“Should there be an equal or similar situation involving Barisan Nasional members the long arm of the law should catch up with them as well.”

Expressing Suhakam’s concerns over reports of alleged police brutality during the demonstration at Bandar Mahkota Cheras on Thursday over a barricade put up by the toll concessionaire, Sipaun said they would investigate the matter and conduct a public inquiry if necessary.

On the tabling of the Suhakam 2007 annual report in Parliament, he said Suhakam welcomed the House to debate its report.