The jurisdiction of the Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) should be reviewed to create a more complete system and to avoid fraud.
IPCMC is said not only to have full power starting from receipt of a complaint until prosecution, but it also had the role of inflicting punishment.
The recommendation was made by Pahang CID chief SAC Othman Nayan during a public hearing proceeding of the Special Select Committee For Consideration of the IPCMC Bill in Wisma Darul Iman, Kuala Terengganu, today.
He said the clauses fixed for the commission were also seen as quite different from legal practices in many democratic countries which had power separations and no absolute power after receiving a complaint.
‘’Looking at the clauses stated, starting from receiving the complaint about an offence, power of investigation, indiscipline proceeding, prosecution process and punishment - it is a complete cycle in the series of any investigation
‘’But my point here is about this function which is entirely handled by only one body, namely, IPCMC,’’ he said in the proceeding, which was also witnessed by over 500 police personnel from Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang.
He said separation of power must be made to avoid fraud and abuse of power from taking place and prevent unjust actions against police personnel.
Othman said separation would also pave the way to an investigation which is in the form of check and balance for every committee. In fact, it would also guarantee the independence and right of those being investigated by IPCMC.
‘’Review and check especially to avoid abuse of power because it will deny justice and contravene existing practises. IPCMC can play a role to accept complaints, process available information and conduct an investigation but not to the point of carrying out prosecution and also fixing the punishment.
‘’Give the last two roles to other bodies or authorities to decide the prosecution process and this will guarantee justice for all,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, IPCMC chairperson Ramkarpal Singh told a media conference said the hearing session was the last being carried out before submitting a recommendation to the Dewan Rakyat which was expected to be no later than Nov 25.
He said the committee had held four other sessions, namely, in Sarawak, Penang, Johor and Sabah, to obtain feedback from stakeholders and the public on the IPCMC bill 2019.
‘’The aim of the bill is not to state the image of the police is not good but to boost it further... with the amendments which will be proposed, I am confident it would benefit the police in the future,’’ he added.
- Bernama
