Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low’s latest statement in which he claims that there is no need to form the IPCMC as there is already an existing mechanism to lodge complaints against the police is both hypocritical and irresponsible. According to Low, the government already has the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC), an independent oversight body on law enforcement agencies, which also looks into complaints into misconduct by police officers.
Firstly, this statement is hypocritical because Datuk Low had himself criticised the failure of the government to implement the IPCMC. As the then-President of Transparency International Malaysia, Datuk Low told a press conference after presenting the 2009 Global Corruption Report that the watering down of the proposed IPCMC into a special complaints commission “strongly indicates the government’s inability to regulate the gatekeepers”.
Paul Low has quickly adapted to BN’s culture of lies by breaking his promise of supporting the recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry of setting up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), which is superior to the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC).
Paul Low had earlier said the public needs to be confident of a clean police force which is free from external influences and that investigations are conducted fairly into all reports lodged to the police. Unfortunately, Datuk Low has now changed his tune and has apparently agreed to endorse the EAIC which has proven to be a colossal failure. This is not old wine in new bottle but old wine in old bottle.
Recently, Former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad has questioned the capability of the EAIC which received RM14 million in budget for two years but only issued two warnings and took one disciplinary action between 2009 and 2012. According to Tun Hamid, 347 complaints were received during that time, where only 60 were directed for full investigation and out of these, only three were fully investigated, with one case referred to the disciplinary authority of the Royal Malaysian Police and two cases closed due to double jeopardy.
Therefore, the DAP strongly calls for the establishment of the IPCMC as recommended by the Tun Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission of Inquiry in 2005 as the only way to restore public confidence in the police force. This is especially necessary considering the numerous custodial deaths that have occurred over the years, including the two recent cases involving N. Dharmendran, 32, at the KL police headquarters on May 21 and R. Jamesh Ramesh 40 at the Penang police headquarters on May 26.
The IPCMC is needed now more than ever, especially when the EAIC has been proven to be not only a poor substitute but also a complete waste of public funds, where RM14 million was spent for issuing two warnings and one disciplinary action.