KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 ― Putrajaya should implement the independent police review board recommended by a royal inquiry as current oversight has proven ineffective, said DAP's Lim Kit Siang.

The DAP parliamentary leader said continued incidents of custodial deaths indicated that the situation has not improved under the watch of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC), which he said was a poor substitute for the proposed Independent Police Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

"The recent outrageous cases of Balamurugan and Chandran have brought back to the fore the need for implementation of the IPCMC proposal of the Police Royal Commission – and this should be the first task of the Home Minister in the March meeting of Parliament,” he said in a statement.

Lim also said he will seek to meet Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the Human Rights Commission and the EAIC over the custodial deaths.

Over 10 policemen were arrested over the death of S. Balamurugan between February 7 and 8 while in police custody at the North Klang Police headquarters.

His death has renewed attention over custodial deaths in Malaysia.

The IPCMC was recommended by a 2005 Royal Commission of Inquiry, but was never formed due to resistance from the police.

The EAIC is the body that investigates such cases and other misconduct at government agencies, but lacks powers to act on the outcomes of its own investigations.