AFTER a month of deliberations and meetings with stakeholders, the bill to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is ready to be re-tabled, sources said.

“Thirty-five recommendations have been made and the report handed over to the government,” said one source.

“Parliament’s Special Select Committee for the Consideration of Bills has met with the various stakeholders, including police, and taken the input,” the source told The Malaysian Insight.

It is now up to the government whether to incorporate the recommendations, he said.

The bill is expected to be re-tabled in the current sitting, which ends on December 5.

Among a key contention from the police is the absence of their representative in the 10-member IPCMC.

“They wanted the commission to include someone nominated by the police. But we don’t see the necessity, as the police can be represented in the various investigation committees.

“As such, we did not include that.”

The Dewan Rakyat on October 7 decided to refer the IPCMC bill to the select committee after lawmakers from both sides complained that they were not given enough time to debate the bill.

This followed a move to make 24 changes to the bill before it was brought to the committee stage.

“This law involves the police and public interests. And there should be more time for us to debate the bill before it is passed,” opposition leader Ismail Sabri (Bera-BN) said during the debate last month.

The IPCMC bill was originally drafted by a royal commission of inquiry to improve the police force in 2005. The bill, however, was rejected by the previous government.

Instead, Barisan Nasional introduced a defanged oversight body called the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC).

The idea of the IPCMC was brought back after Pakatan Harapan defeated BN at the last general election.

Among other concerns police have about the bill was the authority the IPCMC would have not only to accept complaints and investigate them, but also to mete out punishment.

Civil society activists, however, have been pushing hard for the commission to be set up after several cases of custodial abuse, including deaths, and lack of accountability over cases, such as the enforced disappearance of pastor Raymond Koh and Perlis Hope activist Amri Che Mat.

The Special Select Committee for Consideration of Bills is led by Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) and comprises Rusnah Aluai (PH-Tangga Batu), Su Keong Siong (PH-Kampar), Larry Sng (PH-Julau), Wilfred Madius Tangau (Upko-Tuaran), Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang) and Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (GPS-Santubong). – November 27, 2019.