Commission will lead to manipulation of cops, says Musa
KUALA LUMPUR: The establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) goes against Article 140 of the Federal Constitution, says former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.
He insisted that amending the article could lead to outside manipulation and would not work.
“I do not agree with this. It will open the door to outside manipulation on the police force,” he said yesterday.
He said Article 140 gives the Police Commission jurisdiction over all members of the police force.
Musa said he had called for the formation of Ipic (Independent Police Integrity Commission), which was specifically to reform the police force, when he was IGP.
“I submitted the papers to the then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who approved it.
“But the EAIC (Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission) was formed instead and tasked to handle issues involving all enforcement agencies in the country,” he said.
Former Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Mah Weng Kwai said forming the IPCMC would not necessarily work against the police force.
“If you look at it as a whole, all it calls for is an independent body to investigate and it could work well for the police.
“The IPCMC Bill was drafted by the Royal Commission of Inquiry in 2005 and then it went quiet for some time,” he said, adding that the issue re-emerged following the public inquiry by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) into the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat.
The former Suhakam commissioner added that the formation of the IPCMC was one of the recommendations after the conclusion of the public inquiry.
“Inspector-General Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun is contradicting himself by taking this stand now after saying they accepted the IPCMC last year,” he said.