PUTRAJAYA: A member of the Royal Commission of Inquiry formed in 2004 to look into police misconduct has welcomed Bukit Aman’s consent to the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
Professor Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria described the latest development as a “bright spark” for Malaysia, amid many ongoing issues troubling the country.
“The new IGP’s openness towards the setting up of the IPCMC shows that the police are serious about maintaining their integrity. The GIACC (Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre) must listen to what the police reservations are and address them.
“But this must also be done without compromising professionalism and compliance to normal human rights standards.
“We do not want it (IPCMC) to be like Suhakam which had proposed a lot of good recommendations, but it did not have enough bite,” he said.
Prof Denison, who is Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies, said with the police force having made its concerns known, it was up to the relevant authorities to make the final decision and come up with a “win-win” solution.
Another member of the 16-member RCI, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, had said the concerns of the police personnel must be taken into account.
“As a matter of principle, I stand by the recommendations of the commission. All the commission members felt that the IPCMC was an appropriate proposal as one way of reforming the police force,” he said.
