Joint Press Statement: 11st March 2009
Commission on Enforcement Agencies Cannot Substitute the IPCMC:
Proposed Body Potentially Lacks Efficiency and Effectiveness
Commission on Enforcement Agencies Cannot Substitute the IPCMC:
Proposed Body Potentially Lacks Efficiency and Effectiveness
Amnesty International Malaysia and Suaram express grave disappointment over the tabling of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission Bill (EAIC) in Parliament today, instead of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill which was proposed by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police.
The new Bill in its obvious terms defeats the true intention of the Royal Commission to specifically improve the professionalism of the Malaysian Police services and to restore the diminishing public confidence in our police service.
The tabled Bill in our opinion fails to address the fundamental characteristic of a complaint as it lacks independent enforcement powers to provide effective checks and balances in a fair and transparent manner.
The new Bill in its obvious terms defeats the true intention of the Royal Commission to specifically improve the professionalism of the Malaysian Police services and to restore the diminishing public confidence in our police service.
The tabled Bill in our opinion fails to address the fundamental characteristic of a complaint as it lacks independent enforcement powers to provide effective checks and balances in a fair and transparent manner.
We also express serious concerns over the proposed structure of referral function of all investigations to the Attorney General for enforcement hence giving rise to concerns of selective prosecution and political decisions as in cover ups on high profile and politically linked cases.
We are also alarmed at the fact that the Attorney-General who is the political appointee of the Prime Minister is indeed given the full final decision-making mandate which, in our view, defeats the notion of a case being handled and disposed off in a truly independent, just and credible manner.
We are also concerned with the scope of the newly proposed Commission that covers 21 public agencies, which in our view, will make the body redundant and ineffective in its function. We fear that the scope is too wide, and is therefore impossible for a single body of such limited capacity and resources to be able to handle all cases of concern regarding all the 21 agencies of vast differing procedures and operational order.
We are also alarmed at the fact that the Attorney-General who is the political appointee of the Prime Minister is indeed given the full final decision-making mandate which, in our view, defeats the notion of a case being handled and disposed off in a truly independent, just and credible manner.
We are also concerned with the scope of the newly proposed Commission that covers 21 public agencies, which in our view, will make the body redundant and ineffective in its function. We fear that the scope is too wide, and is therefore impossible for a single body of such limited capacity and resources to be able to handle all cases of concern regarding all the 21 agencies of vast differing procedures and operational order.
This development, in our view, will again incapacitate the function of the newly proposed body as it will be faced with issues of delayed responses, inefficient investigative work and runs a risk of being selective due to insufficient resources and capacity. The new body will also be over-stretched in terms of effective and efficient monitoring and scrutiny of the entire enforcement units in Malaysia due to the said facts.
We firmly believe that the need for a specific and specialised independent oversight mechanism is crucial for the improvement and human rights compliance of the police service, as the force is the largest enforcement unit with very wide powers and comes in contact with the public the most on a daily basis.
The proposed Commission is redundant as it would not enjoy the confidence of the public. There will also be doubts on whether complaints made by the public on the police force will attain proper justice in an impartial manner free from any element of collusion and in utmost effective and efficient manner.
We will continue to lobby and campaign for the implementation of the IPCMC over and above the newly tabled Bill to address the critical gaps in the currently proposed body that we believe will not enjoy public confidence upon its full implementation.
We will also continue to monitor the function and effectiveness of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission and provide critical interventions to address the inherent weakness of the body and continue with the reform agenda for our police service.
We firmly believe that the need for a specific and specialised independent oversight mechanism is crucial for the improvement and human rights compliance of the police service, as the force is the largest enforcement unit with very wide powers and comes in contact with the public the most on a daily basis.
The proposed Commission is redundant as it would not enjoy the confidence of the public. There will also be doubts on whether complaints made by the public on the police force will attain proper justice in an impartial manner free from any element of collusion and in utmost effective and efficient manner.
We will continue to lobby and campaign for the implementation of the IPCMC over and above the newly tabled Bill to address the critical gaps in the currently proposed body that we believe will not enjoy public confidence upon its full implementation.
We will also continue to monitor the function and effectiveness of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission and provide critical interventions to address the inherent weakness of the body and continue with the reform agenda for our police service.
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