Debating Suhakam annual report up to Parliament regulations - Azalina

 

It is up to the parliamentary Standing Orders whether the National Human Rights Commission’s (Suhakam) annual report is debated in Dewan Rakyat, said minister Azalina Othman Said.

However, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the government is committed to ensuring the annual report gets tabled in Parliament on time.

“The debating on the report would be dependent on the resolution of the House.

“Therefore, the debate on this report can be made based on the existing Standing Orders,” Azalina (above) said in a written parliamentary response.

She was replying to a question from Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, who asked whether the government would consider not only ensuring Suhakam’s annual report was tabled but also debated in Parliament.

In accordance with Section 21 of the Suhakam Act, the statutory body is required to table an annual report to Parliament about all its activities throughout the year.

Previously, the Perikatan Nasional government paused the tabling Suhakam’s reports in Parliament in 2020.

In 2019, Suhakam’s annual report was debated in Parliament for the first time but in the following year, the PN government at the time said it had no plan to allow it again.

In December last year, Suhakam chief commissioner Rahmat Mohamad called for the current government to table and debate its annual report in Parliament.

“The report needs to be laid out in Dewan Rakyat so that all 222 MPs are aware of the issue of human rights. It is only when it is debated that they would know what action to take.

“Issues such as statelessness, citizenship, and cramped prisons need to be debated. Otherwise, the report will only belong to the library,” he said. - Mkini