Young Syefura Othman (PH-Bentong) said the current leadership void is slowing progress, an issue made more urgent by Malaysia’s impending exit from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Malaysia was elected to the UNHRC for a three-year term at the start of 2022. The term will conclude at the end of 2024.

“The government must promptly make this appointment to show our commitment to addressing humanitarian issues,” the DAP MP told the Dewan Rakyat today.

The position of Suhakam chairman has been vacant since Rahmat Mohamad stepped down in August last year.

Rahmat resigned a little more than two months after the commission sanctioned an independent investigation into allegations of abuse of power against him.

He faced scrutiny when he sued a member of the staff for defamation after allegations he had abused his power to influence the hiring of a specific candidate for the position of chief assistant secretary.

Rahmat denied the allegations in a media interview, saying all decisions were made with the agreement of Suhakam commissioners.

However, Suhakam later announced the suit had been dropped to allow for an independent internal investigation that did not involve commission members.