Retain IPCMC Bill drafted by RCI, government urged

KUALA LUMPUR: The government should retain the original Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill drafted by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), says civil society groups.
 
The Bill, drafted by the RCI in 2005 to improve the police force, has already provided a good basis for the setting up of the police oversight body and there is no need to substantially change it, they said.
 
Datuk Seri M. Ramachelvam of the Bar Council said it was the groups' unanimous view that the IPCMC Bill should be based on the Bill drafted by the RCI.
 
“We accept improvements on that Bill, but it cannot be diluted to make it toothless as has been the criticism with the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC).
 
“We all know that didn't work, EAIC has not fulfilled the role and function of policing the police,” he told a press conference at the Bar Council here on Friday (Nov 30).  
 
Also present were representatives from the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), Suaram, Amnesty International, Society for the Promotion of Human Rights Malaysia (Proham) and the National Human Rights Society (Hakam), among others.
 
The Bill drafted by the RCI in 2005 has “bite” as it provided enforcement powers to the IPCMC, which is being set up to replace its predecessor theEAIC, which has no disciplinary powers, he said.
 
The IPCMC Bill will be tabled in the first Parliament meeting next March.
 
Currently, Ramachelvam said the task of drafting the new Bill for IPCMC or looking into the existing Bill on IPCMC has been handed over to the EAIC.
 
He said the EAIC had finished the drafting process on Nov 28 and has sent the Bill over to the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC), where its legal team is currently studying it.