KUCHING: The Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) bill will be tabled in the upcoming Parliament sitting, said Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
The bill is one of the major reforms that the PH government has promised. It will be tabled by Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong next week.
“The proposal to set up IPCMC was made in 2004 by the Royal Commission (RC) that was formed to study how to improve the police force. However, the previous administration did not have the political will to form the commission,” he said in a press conference at the Democratic Action Party (DAP) headquarters here yesterday.
Chong noted that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador is fully supportive of IPCMC.
“Basically, this commission is independent of the police force because previously when the public lodged a complaint against any misuse of power or abusers of the police force, they have to go to the police station and lodge a complaint, there was no element of independence in the investigation.
“After so long, the general public is still not confident to lodge any complaint against any police abuse of power hence, it is important to have this commission in order to make the police force to be more professional and improve their standard of enforcement,” he added.
He was glad that the IGP was supportive of this initiative and reform that would improve the accountability and professionalism of the police force.
“This bill is something positive for the development of our country and we, including the police officers are looking forward to it.
“The commissioner for IPCMC should be someone who has a background in law and administration and from the look of it, a judge would fit the description,” Chong said.
