Parliamentary Roundtable on the Special Complaints Commission (SCC) Bill tomorrow morning

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The Parliamentary Roundtable on the Special Complaints Commission (SCC) Bill – the fake Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) – will be called by Parliamentary Opposition Leader YB Lim Kit Siang in Parliament House tomorrow, 28th December5 2007 at 9.30 am in Committee Room 1, Parliament House. Instead of the originally announced Thursday, 27th December.

The Office of Parliamentary Opposition Leader had already sent out letters of invitation to various NGOs, NGIs, Political parties as well as the 16 Commissioners of the Royal Police Commission to the Parliamentary Roundtable.

Those who had confirmed their attendance are Former Royal Police Commissioner Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, Chairman of Bar Council Human Rights Committee Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Hakam Deputy President Datuk A. Malek Zakaria, Suaram Coordinator on Police Power and Right to Justice Tah Moon Hui, Chairperson of KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Wanita Section Madam Lee Sok Wah, Convener of Youth For Change (Y4C) Lee Khai Loon, President of Tamil Foundation Mr K. Uthaya Soorian, DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, Seputeh MP YB Teresa Kok etc.

Instead of an IPCMC “lion” with teeth and claws, a toothless and clawless SCC mouse has been produced wasting four years of the Abdullah premiership, making a total mockery of Abdullah’s pledge to reform the police and the Royal Police Commission Report with its 125 recommendations to create an efficient, accountable, incorruptible and professional world-class police service to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights.

The challenge facing all NGOs, NGIs and Malaysians concerned about the unchecked breakdown of law and order with the rise of endemic crime in the country is how to salvage the original IPCMC proposal of the Royal Police Commission in the face of relentless opposition by the police and the lack of political will and authority of the Prime Minister who is also Internal Security Minister.

The Police has won its battle to water down the IPCMC proposal of the Royal Police Commission, to the extent that the Inspector-General of Police is to become a permanent member of the SCC when the Royal Police Commission had barred serving or former police officers from being appointed as IPCMC commissioners.

All the international best practices in other advanced countries for an effective oversight mechanism over police conduct is for it to be completely independent, excluding all police participation.

The United Kingdom Police Reform Act 2002, for instance, provides for the appointment for a Chairman and not less than ten other members of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). It provides that no person who “holds or has held office as a constable in any part of the United Kingdom” or “is or has been under the direction and control” of a chief police officer could be appointed as Chairman or commissioner.

Why is Malaysia buckling this trend of international best practices if the Police and Government are serious in wanting to make the oversight mechanism over police misconduct a successful one rather than a scandalous failure?

Can the original IPCMC proposal be salvaged and is it worth the effort to try to salvage it.

This is the first issue the Parliamentary Roundtable on the SCC Bill (fake IPCMC) must grapple with. We hope more representatives from other NGOs and political parties could attend this roundtable in producing a world class police force and to salvage the original IPCMC proposal.