PETALING JAYA: Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) wants the government to broaden the jurisdiction of the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) to allow it to become an independent and effective oversight body in dealing with police misconduct.
Suaram coordinator, Wong Yan Ke, said a number of cheating and rape cases involving police personnel had adversely affected the public's faith and trust in the force.
Wong said the police, which is the largest law enforcement agency in the country, should by right be the guardians of society but instead, had seen some policemen become the wrongdoers.
"Such cases cannot be seen as individual criminal cases but a phenomenon driven by a culture of impunity in the police force and a lack of effective preventive measures.
"This trend also shows that the existing police surveillance mechanism is not as effective. We feel that the Unity Government has missed a golden opportunity to restore this phenomenon by empowering the IPCC," he said during a press conference here today.
Suaram, together with 57 civil society organisations (CSOs) nationwide, are demanding transparency and accountability from the police when discharging their duties.
Suaram, he said, is convinced that the crisis of public trust in the police will worsen if police misconduct is not overseen by an independent body.
Wong said that after being postponed since August last year, the home minister two weeks ago finally announced the appointment of five IPCC members.
"This happened after the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) announced that they would no longer receive complaints regarding the police from July last year.
"However, the appointments were made without engagement sessions with stakeholders including the CSOs.
"If we take a closer look at the IPCC Act and jurisdiction now, the Unity Government did not make improvements according to the views of the CSOs. This isn't in line with Pakatan Harapan's own stand in rejecting the IPCC bill (RUU) in 2005."
Wong went on to explain that the IPCC's jurisdiction is different from the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) proposed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) in 2005.
"It is clear that the IPCC is not effective compared to the EAIC which is already weak as it is.
"Regardless of how competent and experienced the members of the commission are, we fear that the IPCC's structural deficiencies will only serve as a 'referral commission'.
"It is like a toothless tiger. The IPCC has no power to raid or to seize, no visits to the police lock up without prior notice, in fact even disciplinary action cannot be taken towards offenders, there can only be suggestions, proposals to the Police Force Commission (SPP) for further action," he said.
He added that after the proposal or suggestion has been put forth to the SPP, the commission has the option of following the IPCC's suggestion, proposal or otherwise.
"Therefore we doubt if the IPCC can effectively deal with the issue of police misconduct given that its jurisdiction to investigate and enforce punishment is very limited.
"However, we are still willing to cooperate and work together, and we propose that there be a meeting between the CSOs and the IPCC in the near future to ensure that this institution can at least function effectively," he said.
In the meantime, he said a periodic assessment of the IPCC's performance and effectiveness should be made every two years and presented in Parliament.