Suhakam chair resigns voluntarily, effective Aug 31

Suhakam chairperson Rahmat Mohamad has voluntarily resigned from the post, effective this Thursday (August 31).

The Prime Minister’s Department’s Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU), in a statement today, said the government will appoint a temporary chairperson in the near future to carry out Rahmat’s duties until his replacement is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“This is to ensure Suhakam’s governance runs smoothly during this transition period,” it said.

In June, several allegations were made against Rahmat, ranging from racism to abuse of power.

Rahmat at the time said he was prepared to be investigated by BHEUU, after allegations against him were referred to the department.

When contacted today and asked if his resignation is due to the allegations against him, Rahmat refused to comment.

“I’ll stick to what the Legal Affairs Division has said in the statement,” he told Malaysiakini briefly.

However, the probe against him remains unclear.

Special officer

Previously, among others, the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity to Malaysiakini had accused Rahmat of bypassing certain internal procedures.

They claimed that he appointed a special officer despite objections from Suhakam’s senior management based on the individual’s appraisal for a separate position within the commission.

However, Rahmat refuted the allegation, claiming that all decisions were made with the agreement of Suhakam commissioners and later communicated to the senior management.

Rahmat’s move to appoint a special officer had come into question as the role was not provided under Suhakam’s organisational chart.

It was learnt that at least three other Suhakam chairpersons before Rahmat did not have a special officer but worked with a personal assistant together with the commission’s senior management.

Rahmat’s move had raised concerns that the Suhakam senior management, comprising a secretary and three deputies, was being sidelined.

Sources alleged that it was a “systemic boycott” of the existing management team as commissioners were making decisions without their involvement.

Questionable flight

Quizzed on his engagement with the senior management, Rahmat at that time cited the commissioners’ monthly meetings.

While Rahmat said the meetings had discussed administrative matters, Malaysiakini learnt there were unanswered questions surrounding reimbursement claims filed after his official trip to Berlin, Germany, last year.

The chairperson was said to have requested reimbursement for four one-way flight tickets to Kuala Lumpur purchased using his personal credit card.

Sources told Malaysiakini the claims were made without providing the required verifications, including the identities of two individuals for whom Rahmat had bought the tickets, other than a Suhakam staff he was travelling with.

Responding to this, Rahmat said the four of them missed a connecting flight from Istanbul, Turkey, so he used his own money to pay for their overnight accommodation and new flight tickets to Kuala Lumpur.

The Suhakam commissioner also denied claims that he was not satisfied with the racial composition of the senior management.

Plot to remove Rahmat?

Addressing talks of “factionalism” within Suhakam, including alleged attempts to remove him as chairperson, Rahmat said he was unaware of the situation as reported by online portal MalaysiaNow on June 16.

Three days after the report was published, a group of pro-Islamic NGOs held a press conference to defend Suhakam against “certain quarters who allegedly want to assert their own agenda through the commission.”

The group’s spokesperson Lukman Sheriff Alias had linked the alleged power struggle to differences in opinion over how it would utilise the RM2.3 million in financial assistance received from the European Union (EU).

This led to more questions on internal issues within Suhakam.

Malaysiakini understands that specific allegations against Rahmat with regard to the appointment of the EU grant manager were included in the internal complaint against him.

This includes alleged racial bias in his choice of candidate versus another individual recommended by a selection committee, including members from Suhakam’s senior management.

Commenting on this, Rahmat acknowledged the complaint against him but said the matter no longer arose as all commissioners had agreed to hold another round of interviews for the position.

Meanwhile, BHEUU today also said that Rahmat, who was appointed Suhakam chairperson for the 2022-2025 session, had undertaken various initiatives, including the debate of the 2020 annual report and financial statement in the Dewan Rakyat from June 12 to 14.

“Rahmat now serves as the chairperson of the Asian International Arbitration Centre Advisory Board for the 2023-2025 session following an appointment made by the law and institutional reform minister (Azalina Othman Said) on Aug 23.

“This appointment aligns with his background in international law and his experience as the fifth secretary-general of the Asian African Legal Consultative Organization.” - Mkini