4. Seminar on human rights and policing The police are the first line of defence for human rights. They are the guardians of the law, including human rights law. Cognisant of the important role played by the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), SUHAKAM, with the collaboration of RMP, organised a “Seminar on Human Rights and Policing“ for high-level police officials on 2 August at the Royal Malaysia Police College in Kuala Lumpur. The seminar served as a platform for a discussion on how to balance public order and human rights, contemporary challenges, as well as the need to ensure public and police rights are always prioritised. This includes the provision of enough facilities, as well as looking after police welfare and security. The seminar also discussed steps that needed to be taken to achieve a better balance between public order and human rights. The seminar was officiated by Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun. Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) Deputy Secretary-General Dato’ Indera Khairul Dzaimee closed the event after reading out the speech of the ministry’s secretarygeneral. About 40 participants, which included all the directors and deputy directors of various departments in Bukit Aman, Chiefs of State Contingent and Commandants of RMP training institutions, attended the seminar. Four senior officers from MOHA also participated to ensure the matters discussed would be taken up to the ministry for consideration. Commissioner Professor Dato’ Dr Aishah Bidin moderated the session. The speakers were Associate Professor Dr. Shamrahayu Ab Aziz from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) who spoke on the ‘International Human Rights Standards and Practises In Law Enforcement’, Commissioner Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai who discussed about ‘SUHAKAM’s Observations and Recommendations on Human Rights for RMP’ and ACP S.Shanmugamoorthy from Bukit Aman who spoke on ‘Human Rights in the Context of Policing in Malaysia’. 5. Human rights workshop for district police officers in charge of criminal investigations Following the good response from participants of the “Human Rights Workshop for District Police Officers In charge of Criminal Investigations (OCCI)” in the central zone in 2017, SUHAKAM conducted a similar workshop in the northern zone covering the states of Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang and Perak in 2018. The programme, held from 23 - 25 July in Penang, was attended by 34 OCCIs. The workshop helped SUHAKAM and RMP exchange views on human rights and policing. 26 SUHAKAM ANNUAL REPORT 2018