IPCMC formation delayed since police objected, home minister says

PETALING JAYA, Sept 27 ― The Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) did not come about easily as the police had objected to such a body, Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin revealed today.

The Pagoh MP told the press that the police felt it was unfair to single them out.

“They are not comfortable. The reason why it was not in force before, was because of strong objections from the police, because they thought it was not fair to single out the police, and actions taken [against them] because people don’t believe the police are clean.

“This is not correct, as bodies of such has been formed in other countries as well,” Muhyiddin told reporters here.

“In the long term, it actually enhances the image and integrity of the police force,” he added.

Muhyiddin said the police still feel that the IPCMC would be redundant, as they currently have the Police Force Commission in place.

However, Muhyiddin said that discussions are ongoing with stakeholders and the police, with regards to the matter.

“IPCMC is going to be a commission. There will be specific laws with regards to IPCMC,  where we define the scope,” he said, adding that he would be tabling the proposal to the Cabinet “very soon”.

“At my ministry’s level, we are nearly at the last stage to polish every detail, and later on, of course the preparation for the draft Bill which will be tabled to Parliament as soon as possible,” he added.

The Malaysian Bar had yesterday urged the government to step up efforts in making the formation of the IPCMC a legislative priority.

Its president, George Varughese, in a statement, also welcomed the government’s move to enhance and convert the existing Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) into the IPCMC.

This comes hot on the heels of an announcement made by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week that the government had decided to strengthen the EAIC by rebranding it as the IPCMC.