Ex-Foreign Ministry sec-gen is Suhakam chief
Tan Sri Othman Hashim has been appointed the new chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
Othman was formerly the secretary-general of the Foreign Ministry.
He will be assuming the post previously held by Tan Sri Razali Ismail, who resigned two weeks before the end of his term on April 27.
The Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement, said Othman’s appointment, which had received the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, was in accordance with sub-section 6(1) of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999.
Othman began his career as a Malaysian administrative and diplomatic officer in 1979 after graduating from Universiti Malaya.
He served in various countries including Romania, Switzerland and China.
His first ambassadorial post was in the Czech Republic from 2002 to 2005.
He then returned to the ministry to serve as deputy secretary-general for management services, and subsequently as deputy secretary-general for bilateral affairs.
From 2009 to 2012, Othman served as permanent representative of Malaysia to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, before being posted to Washington, DC, as ambassador of Malaysia in 2012.
On September 2013, Othman returned to Putrajaya and was appointed the ministry’s secretary-general, the highest executive post in the ministry.
He led the ministry during Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean in 2015 and Malaysia’s non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council from 2015 to 2016.
He retired from the ministry in December 2016.
Also announced were the names of seven members of the commission, two of whom are new appointees.
The new commissioners are former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Seri Mohd Hishamudin Yunus and academician Madeline Berma.
Hishamudin began his career in the Malaysian Judicial and Legal Service, where he served in various capacities, including as president of the Sessions Court, deputy public prosecutor, state legal adviser, deputy parliamentary draftsman and chief registrar of the Supreme Court.
In 2009, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal, where he remained until his retirement in 2015.
Madeline completed her doctorate at the University of Hull, England, and has a Bachelor of Economics from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Her expertise is in development studies, and her research work focuses on rural development, indigenous economic development and women in development.
The other five current commissioners are former Sabah deputy state secretary (development) Datuk Godfrey Gregory, former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mah Weng Kwa, former National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Datuk Lok Yim Pheng, academician Associate Professor Dr Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Saleh and human rights activist Jerald S. Joseph.
The Prime Minister’s Office said their appointments, which took effect on April 27, would be valid for a three-year period until 2021.