Malaysia needs an independent police oversight commission that is not toothless

MALAYSIAN civil society objects to the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) introduced by the Perikatan Nasional government, which will be tabled for a second reading in the upcoming session of Parliament. We believe that the proposed IPCC has strayed too far from the original spirit of an oversight body proposed by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police (Royal Commission) in 2005.

The new IPCC Bill, which was tabled in August 2020 in place of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), took a significant step back from the IPCMC Bill introduced in October 2019. The IPCC Bill weakened the IPCMC Bill and was re-tabled as though it is a new Bill. This seems to be an attempt to bypass consultations with the Legal Affairs Department and recommendations by the Parliament Select Committee for Consideration of Bills.