Key Issues Apart from regular health inspections, hygiene is an important factor in keeping diseases in abeyance. During its visits, the Commission found a high prevalence of scabies amongst prisoners, indicative of infestation due to poor levels of cleanliness of prison cells. In addition, the special health and hygiene needs of women must also be met. A quarter of the female inmates surveyed by the Commission reported that they were not provided with sanitary napkins during menstruation and that they had to find a way to purchase these themselves. Due to budget constraints, the personnel at the female prisons could not ensure that the item is readily stocked. There is also the need for the authorities to address mental and psychological disorders not only in respect of inmates but also prison personnel. Mental health screening as well as psychiatric and psychological services must be regularly provided to them. The Commission was told by a number of the prisons’ staff that they experienced stress while working in the prisons, which they claimed was manifested through insomnia, anxiety, and loss of appetite. The initial findings above point to the need for careful planning of annual budgets and human resources, and to the need for collaborative resolution efforts by MOHA, the Prisons Department, and the MOH in order to effectively address persisting health issues in prisons. The Commission stresses that apart from deprivation of liberty as a result of judicial sentencing, and restrictions imposed by prison authorities that may be necessary to maintain order and security, other fundamental rights of prisoners should remain intact, including their right to health. 6. REFLECTION ON THE NATIONAL INQUIRY It has been over two years since the Commission launched the report of its National Inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Malaysia (NI). Since the launch, the Government has established a National Task Force to study the findings and recommendations of the Commission’s NI report. Following this, on 3 June this year, YB Senator Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan announced the formation of the Cabinet Committee on Native Land Rights which would be responsible for addressing, monitoring, and implementing the findings of the Government’s National Task Force report. While the Commission has welcomed the formation of the Task Force and Committee, the Commission is concerned that the Task Force’s findings and report have not been made public. Attempts by the Commission to urge the Government to disclose them have remained unsuccessful. The Commission reiterates the public’s right to information and to participate in their government, including in the development of policies and decisions, especially those that have direct impact on them. In this context, the inclusion of the Orang Asli and Orang Asal communities in the process should be ensured; or at the very least, information on the Task Force’s discussions and decisions should be made known to them so as to allow them to 22 BOOK-ANR2016-01-latest.indb 22 08/04/2016 3:32 PM