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Parliamentary Opposition
Leader Roundtable on the Police Royal Commission Report “Police Reforms –
Who Guards the Guardians?” in Parliament tomorrow
Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Parliament, Tuesday): The Police Royal Commission Report will be the subject of the inaugural Parliamentary Opposition Leader Roundtable for consultation and interaction of views among Members of Parliament, political leaders, NGO representatives and civil society activists on current issues of national public importance. Among the participants at the Roundtable on “Police Reforms – Who Guards the Guardians?” to be held at Committee Room 2, Parliament House, at 10 am tomorrow (Friday, 20th May 2005) are Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General; Dato’ Kamarudin Jaffar, MP for Tumpat and PAS Central Committee Member; Tian Chua, Parti Keadilan Rakyat Information Chief; Ivy Josiah, executive director, Women’s Aid Organisation; Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, President Transparency International Malaysia; Marimuthu Nadason, FOMCA President; Malik Imtiaz HAKAM Vice President; Maria Chin Abdullah, executive director, Women’s Development Collective; R.N. Rajah, Chairman, Police Watch and Chan Li Kang, Co-ordinator, SUARAM. Has the Police Royal Commission done a creditable job? Are its 125 recommendations satisfactory and acceptable? What is the likely fate of the 125 recommendations and will they be implemented? These and many other questions about the Malaysian police, its professionalism, effectiveness, efficiency and integrity which have become the staple diet of Malaysians in the past four days, are central issues at the Roundtable tomorrow. What of the RM34 million “Cop” exposed by the Police Royal Commission Report - the “beneficiary” of a “culture of impunity” with the police accountable neither to internal nor external checks spawned by “the combination of individual and systemic acts of corruption and a lack of transparency and oversight”? It is reported today that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) has been asked to investigate the Police Royal Commission report of the retired senior police officer who had declared assets totaling RM34 million while in the force but no action was taken. Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Musa Hassan confirmed that Bukit Aman had requested the ACA to investigate the matter thoroughly. The report said: “Sources said police wanted the ACA to step in as there was no record in Bukit Aman to show any personnel ever declaring such assets.”(Star 19.5.05) But another newspaper had reported yesterday that the ACA had initiated investigations in 2000 when the claim of the senior police officer’s wealth surfaced in early 2000. An ACA senior official was quoted as saying: “Although a file was opened, the investigation hit a dead end as the agency failed to get enough evidence to pursue the case.” (Malay Mail 18.5.05) Who is telling the truth and who is telling the lie? The Police Royal Commission Report has created multiple credibility tests for various important agencies and organs of government, one of which is the ACA. The Roundtable tomorrow can pose the questions if it does not have the answers. (19/05/2005)
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