DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has cautioned his Pakatan Harapan colleagues that the sex video scandal implicating Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali could derail the 'New Malaysia' agenda.
"For four days, the country has been agog, haunted and hounded by the sex video implicating a minister, which demonstrates its potency to destroy the Harapan coalition and derail our Malaysia agenda," he said in a statement today.
"There is no doubt that the Haziq sex video is the greatest challenge to Pakatan Harapan since the 14th general election," he added, referring to Santubong PKR Youth chief Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz (below), who confessed to being one of the men shown in the video.
"Harapan leaders must unite to forge ahead and not to be derailed from the new Malaysia agenda."
Lim asked if Malaysians who voted for Harapan would allow the sex videos, which have been circulating over the past few days, to thwart the 'Save Malaysia' mission now.
Assuring that Harapan will continue to deliver on its promises when Parliament sits again in July, he urged the people to place their trust in the police to carry out their investigations.
IPCMC bill
In his statement, Lim said that he expected the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) bill to be tabled in the upcoming sitting.
"Instead of the July meeting of Parliament being known as a Haziq sex video session, I would like to see it be known as the IPCMC Parliament," he said.
The Iskandar Puteri MP also suggested that the IPCMC bill be made public for feedback at least a week before it is tabled.
If tabled, he said, it would leave Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador with less than 700 days to make the police a world-class force.
"All Harapan leaders must be conscious of the challenge in the second year of the government to be more successful than the first year to deliver various promises.
"Let us focus on what the ministers and deputy ministers can deliver in the second year of the Harapan government," he said.
Last month, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was reported as saying that the IPCMC bill would be tabled this year.
The Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC) has been tasked with preparing a paper on the IPCMC that would be presented to the cabinet for approval.
The IPCMC has long been called for to address integrity issues with the police following complaints, including cases of custodial deaths.
During former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s tenure, the formation of the commission was rejected outright by then-police chief Mohd Bakri Omar in 2006, who said that the disciplinary powers of the Police Force Commission (SPP) should be maintained.
The Najib Abdul Razak administration, meanwhile, pledged to improve the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) instead of introducing the IPCMC.
Under Item 20 of its election manifesto, Harapan promised to implement the commission within its first term.
Following the formation of the new government, former inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said that the police accepted the possible formation of the IPCMC, as long the rights of his personnel are protected.
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