THE inspector-general’s standing orders (IGSO) must be declassified if Putrajaya is genuine about reforming the police force, a Malaysian Bar taskforce said today.

M. Ramachelvan, co-chair of the Malaysian Bar’s taskforce on the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), said declassifying the IGSO would restore public confidence and lift the integrity of the police.

The IGSO is the general control, direction and information of the police force.

It contains administrative orders from the inspector-general of police, which are called standing orders.

“The IGSO is an official secret. It cannot be made public but if the government is serious on true reforms, it must be declassified.

“If it is not, it defeats the purpose of having an oversight body to look into the police force.

“The IGSO is a directive to all police officers on how they can use firearms, under what circumstances, and others. The public should know this,” said Ramachelvan after the briefing on IPCMC bill today.

The 2019 IPCMC Bill was tabled for the first reading on July 18 to replace the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC).

It is aimed at improving the police force in terms of integrity and effective management.

It would act as an independent body to look into police complaints and misconduct more holistically.

Malaysian Bar vice president Roger Chan agreed with Ramachelvan.

“The IGSO covers the orders and directives, and it should be made public unless it is about national security.

“However, at the moment the IGSO does not include matters concerning national security,” Chan said.

Andrew Khoo, who is also a member of the IPCMC taskforce, said it is nonsense for the IGSO to remain a secret when other developed countries have made the orders public.

“You can browse the Internet and find IGSO in the UK, some provinces in Canada and in other countries but you can’t find anything about the our own IGSO here.

“It must be declassified if we are serious in implementing IPCMC,” Khoo said.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong had previously said the IPCMC Bill, which is set to be tabled for its second reading in the next Parliament sitting in October, is still open to changes.

He said the bill is expected to be tabled just before the tabling of Budget 2020.

In May, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador, who supported the implementation of IPCMC, gave assurances that the police would accept the oversight body.

He told reporters that it is his job to convince police personnel after Putrajaya completed a draft of the IPCMC bill.

The IPCMC was first proposed by a royal commission of inquiry in 2005 to improve the police force, following a spate of deaths in custody.

In 2006, the police force under then-IGP Mohd Bakri Omar launched a campaign to reject the IPCMC.

The taskforce today also said that the IGP should also be allowed to be investigated under the IPCMC.

The taskforce revealed that under Clause 22 of the bill, the IGP is excluded from IPCMC investigations.

“The IGP must be included under the bill. Why must the IGP be left out?” said Ramachelvam.

Our view is Clause 22 must be removed from the bill.

How is the IPCMC going to function if there is such a clause to protect the top cop from investigation,” he added.

Ramachelvam said the Malaysian Bar was told that the IGP was a senior government servant who could only be probed by a special committee.

“The reason was akin to any other senior government servant, for example the Attorney General, only a special committee can investigate the IGP,” Ramachelvam said.