The shooting fatality of 14-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah, has led to former Bar Council president Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari to call on the government to revive the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) which was shelved in 2006.

Although Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop has been tasked to head a special panel Kuthubul Zaman calls it a "whitewash".

kuthubul zaman bukhari 01 Kuthubul Zaman ( left ), who was one of the formulators of the IPCMC bill which was scrapped in 2007, said the government should seriously reconsider bringing it back.

"The people are concerned the panel chaired by the Abu Seman will not actually address the issue or may hide some findings.

"Even within BN there have been calls for the IPCMC. People would have more faith over its findings in cases like Aminulrasyid."

Kuthubul, along with several prominent people including two former Lord Presidents and the present Chief Justice Zaki Azmi, helped draft the IPCMC bill in 2005. However, it was never tabled.

Other members who helped draft the bill included former Lord Presidents Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah and Mohd Salleh Abas, along former Inspector General Police, Hanif Omar, judge Zaleha Zahari, and lawyer Kamilia Ibrahim.

The IPCMC, was a central recommendation in the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police.

It was initiated when a videotape surfaced in 2005 showing an alleged female Chinese national ordered to strip and perform nude squats at the Petaling Jaya police lock-up.

The recommendation to have the IPCMC was halted in 2006, after the police force rejected the proposals.

The IPCMC was meant to be replaced by the Special Complaints Commission, considered a watered down version. However the fate of even the SCC bill remains uncertain.

Bar Council shocked

Meanwhile Bar council chairperson Ragunath Kesavan ( below ) said the Aminulrasyid shooting incident had shocked the Malaysian Bar Council and it was troubling that the police had labeled the teenager as a criminal.

NONE "This is geared at fending off blame, and is grossly unfair to his family and wholly irrelevant to the cause of death.

"The excessive number of deaths by police shootings cements the perception that law enforcement officers are either negligent or reckless in the performance of their duties," he said.

Ragunath emphasised nothing less than an immediate, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation is needed in this case.

Call for inquest

The Bar Council chairperson said while the authorities have classified the case as murder, he reiterates a proper way was for the authorities to invoke Section 328 of the Criminal Procedure Code and have an inquest.

"This should be carried out each time there is a fatality in the course of police operations regardless of the circumstances. This is in the public interest," he said in a statement.

He added the police and the government must take urgent action to ensure justice is done and stern measures are taken against any officer guilty of misconduct.