The government to reiterate its decision not to establish IPCMC may need a thorough consideration. Deputy National Youth Chief of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Andy Yong Kim Seng urges the government to look into a larger picture and most importantly to have a real political will to transform.
“Whether it is EAIC or IPCMC, what the people want is integrity, accountability and credibility of the police force. So it is not so much issues of human rights or jurisdiction but to restore public confidence of an independent body” emphasized Andy.
Andy further said “If the country is committed to maintain an effective mechanism and to move forward, EAIC has obviously failed to perform so far. Very few cases resulted in disciplinary action under EAIC, not to mention the negative perception of the public at large”.
Previously the government rejected similar calls due to several reasons; among others being “unconstitutional” and restriction of police power in carrying out its duties. To this Andy commented “In my opinion, contrary to the above reason, with the establishment of IPCMC it is actually consistent with Article 140 of the Federal Constitution in relation to the Police Force Commission and will likely to deter misconduct of the few bad apples (as commonly said) in the police force”
“The gist of the Royal Commission Report in 2005 in relation to IPCMC are to investigate complaints of the police personnel in order to prevent and investigate corruption and other serious misconducts. In short to improve police integrity and build public confidence. So if members of the EAIC are appointed from “within” the government or the same agency, how can the public expect independence?” added Andy.
ANDY YONG 楊錦成 