Article contributed by Firdaus Husni, Deputy Chairperson, Bar Council Task Force on IPCMC; and photos provided by Advocates’ Association of Sarawak
On 15 Sept 2016, the Bar Council Task Force on Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (“IPCMC”), in collaboration with the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak, organised a public forum entitled “Promoting Greater Police Accountability in Malaysia”. The public forum was held at Lot 10 Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm.
The President of the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak, Leonard Shim, delivered the introductory remarks to welcome members of the Task Force, speakers and participants to the public forum. Leonard stressed on the importance of advocating public awareness to demand police accountability in the country.
This was followed by the keynote address by George Varughese, Vice–President of the Malaysian Bar. In his speech, George highlighted the alarming statistics of deaths in police custody as well as the disappointing attitude of the Malaysian Government in addressing the issue. He also underscored that an independent external oversight commission is crucial towards building a world–class, professional and disciplined police force.
There was a slide presentation by Firdaus Husni, Deputy Chairperson of the Task Force. Firdaus discussed, among others, case studies involving deaths in police custody, police shooting and other forms of police misconduct and abuse. She also highlighted that the functions and powers of the existing Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (“EAIC”) — a watered–down version of the IPCMC — are not adequate to provide the necessary oversight and to ensure police accountability.
The event continued with a panel discussion, which was moderated by Firdaus, featuring Leonard Shim, President of the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak; Dato’ Benjamin b Hj Hasbie, former Chief of Staff at the Inspector General of Police’s Secretariat (Research and Development), Royal Malaysia Police; Sevan Doraisamy, Executive Director of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (“SUARAM”); and Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, Co–Chairperson of the Task Force. This was followed with a question–and–answer session.
Among the issues raised were the structure, functions, powers and independence of the Royal Malaysia Police; how monitoring and documenting cases of police abuse are done; and the work undertaken by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police and the resulting recommendations.
Kuthubul ended the public forum by stating that we must continue to push for the setting up of the IPCMC, to ensure accountability of the Malaysian police force.