Letter to editor
I CALL upon the Unity Government to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) since it was first proposed by a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) some 19 years ago.
The powers of the IPCMC should extend to all enforcement agencies in order to instil discipline in the forces.
Over the past two decades, we have witnessed countless cases where police and other enforcement officers commit acts of malfeasance but are let off with just a slap on the wrist.
In a recent case, for example, three men were arrested in Penang for recording the police raid. However, former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan and many senior lawyers have commented that there are no laws to stop anyone from recording a police raid.
The three individuals who were arrested can, of course, bring a civil suit against the police, but it may just turn out that when the police officers lose the case, it is the government that has to pay the victims out of its coffers, while the police officers are let off or maybe just assigned to desk jobs.
What is more important is that the errant policemen are punished by an independent commission when they carried out the arrest ultra vires which amounts to nothing but police intimidation.
Otherwise, it would make a mockery when the public knows that it is not illegal to record any raids. If raids are done properly, there is no reason for the intimidation in the first place which is why I had asked why the police have resisted the wearing of body cameras.
The police being a government agency has to accept the decision of the government of the day to set up the IPCMC and to wear body cameras so that we can prevent situations like this from being misconstrued. – Feb 5, 2023
Lim Lip Eng is Pakatan Harapan (PH)-DAP MP for Kepong.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main pic credit: Lowyat.net
