Gobind wants IPCMC showdown with Deputy Home Minister
An opposition MP has challenged the Deputy Home Minister to a debate on the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo accused Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s dismissal of the IPCMC was flawed. By and large, the opposition and critics of the police have been demanding that the IPCMC should be set up, as recommended by a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
“He (Wan Junaidi) said its drafters ‘breached every principle of justice in any law’,” Gobind said.
“He went on to criticise the IPCMC (recommendation), saying it excludes the power of the court and becomes the final adjudicator; that someone facing disciplinary action does not have the right of appeal in court,” he said in a statement made in Kuala Lumpur today.
There was a simple solution to Wan Junaidi’s complaint: provide the means to make an appeal to the High Court, he said.
He added that current laws which deal with police discipline also do not have express provisions for appeal to any court.
“The current practice for police officers who are unhappy with disciplinary decisions against them is to challenge those decisions by way of judicial review.”
Gobind noted that the IPCMC, if set up, does not have the power to prosecute suspects.
Hence, the powers of the Attorney-General to initiate, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for criminal offences, guaranteed under the Federal Constitution, remain.
He said Wan Junaidi had also claimed there was no need for the IPCMC because the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) was more consistent with natural justice.
“Perhaps he should note that the EAIC does not provide for direct appeal to a court of law either. Datuk Wan Junaidi should not be so quick to dismiss calls for the implementation of the IPCMC.”
Gobind said it would be to Wan Junaidi’s advantage to engage with the opposition, the non-governmental organisations concerned, and even the Bar Council before he moved to publicly declare his objections to the IPCMC.
He added that Wan Junaidi made very serious allegations when he said the IPCMC breaches every principle of justice in any law and that he must now be prepared to substantiate that. – July 11, 2013.
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