Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Militant human-rights activists selected as candidates for the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) are finding opposition within the splintered commission, as some members are not happy with their "pro-Western, anti-military, NGO-approach".

Most of the 14 people nominated by a committee comprising of academics and some Commission members are outspoken non-governmental activists since the repressive days of former president Suharto. They include human-rights lawyers Hendardi and Todung Mulya Lubis, environmentalist Emmy Hafild, consumer-rights campaigner Zoemrotin and urban poor advocate Wardah Hafidz. Some of them were known to be supporters of ousted president Abdurrahman Wahid till the last days of his 21-month tenure.

Some members of the Commission have raised objections to the selections. They say the candidates do not represent the various elements of society. Mr Saafroedin Bahar said the selection lacked former bureaucrats, judges, attorneys, police and military officers, and religious figures.

"These candidates do not reflect pluralism," added the retired military general. "Komnas Ham is not an NGO. If it consists mainly of the NGO people, then I'm afraid Komnas will adopt an 'Abdurrahman-Wahid syndrome'." He said Mr Abdurrahman, a former activist, continued to act like one by alienating the military, police and Parliament while in office.

He and his colleagues have ignored the recommended list and added 20 more candidates to the selection. The move is to raise the number of Commission members from 25 to 35 people, so that NGO types would not dominate the body. Parliament is due to screen the candidates next week.

But Mr Saafroedin's colleague Asmara Nababan disagreed. "There are a lot of objections within Komnas because the current members are mainly former bureaucrats, politicians and retired military and police officers," he said. "Only one person comes from an NGO – so it is very under-represented." He pointed out that the current members were mostly "senior citizens" who think many of the young candidates are a threat to stability.

A human-rights commission does not have to represent all professions, Mr Asmara said, otherwise it would be laden with conflict of interests and would lack independence. He added: "It is this that continues to erode trust in the Komnas HAM. Some of the people here are happy enough that we can only bark but not bite."

Three human-rights organisations have also urged all existing Komnas members to resign, because of its inability to resolve human-rights abuses. They described the Commission as a "bumper of immunity".