Abdullah should clarify at the
first opportunity in his current visit to Europe whether he fully accepts
the 125 recommendations and the timeframe of the Royal Police Commission to
implement 80 per cent or 99 recommendations within 12 months by May next
year Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Parliament, Wednesday):Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday expressed surprise at the disclosure by the Royal Police Commission Report about the RM34 million assets declaration by a senior police officer and said that although no name was mentioned, he was certain the Inspector-General of Police will give it due attention. The surprise is Najib’s surprise, as the Royal Police Commission Report was presented to the Prime Minister some three weeks ago on April 29, the same day it was presented to the Yang di Pertuan Agong. Although the public is learning for the first time about the “RM38 million Cop” after the release of the Commission Report on Monday, Najib should have known about it for some three weeks already. The question is why no action had been taken by the highest authorities in the past 19 days to get to the bottom of the “RM34 million Cop” scandal or other corruption disclosures, such as:
But Najib’s biggest surprise is his statement that “For now, we do not want to say what can and cannot be accepted by the Government”, indicating that the government has not decided whether to accept in full or in part the 125 recommendations of the Royal Commission to transform the police force into a world-class 21st century organization that is efficient, clean and trustworthy, dedicated to serving the people and the nation with integrity and respect for human rights. This is most shocking as it is at variance with the implicit undertaking of full acceptance of the 125 recommendations by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when declaring that he is “committed to implementing recommendations that can improve the organisation and prestige of the Royal Malaysian Police as a capable and efficient law enforcement agency for the 21st century”. My disagreement with Abdullah is the necessity for a task force headed by him to carry out detailed study of the 125 recommendations and categorise them for immediate, medium and long-term implementation, as this has been done in the Commission Report. The Royal Police Commission Report included a time-frame for the implementation of all the recommendations, dividing the 125 proposals into five main categories for the implementation of 80 per cent or 99 of the 125 recommendations within 12 months by May 2006, viz: Implementation by June 2005 – 5 by August 2005 – 21 by December 2005 - 22 by January 2006 - 14 by May 2006 - 37 Total 99 Only Abdullah can clear the confusion and doubt about the government’s commitment to fully accept and implement the 125 recommendations of the Royal Police Commission, and I call on the Prime Minister to clarify at the first available opportunity in his current visit to Europe as to whether he fully accepts the 125 recommendations and the timeframe of the Royal Police Commission to implement 80 per cent or 99 recommendations within 12 months by May next year. (18/05/2005)
* Lim Kit Siang,
Parliamentary Opposition Leader, MP for Ipoh Timur & DAP
Central Policy and Strategic Planning Commission
Chairman |