KOTA KINABALU, November 11, 2019 DE: Sabah progressive Party (SAPP) Secretary-General Datuk Richard Yong said the party in principle supports the initiative to reform and restore the Royal Malaysian Police into a respectable law enforcement agency.
He said the police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) should effectively check and balance and enhance transparency and accountability of the police with the help of public hearings.
The IPCMC, he said, should be improved and become better than the EAIC (Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission) which it is supposed to replace.
He said this in a statement, Sunday, after representing SAPP in the public hearing done by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Consideration of Bills concerning IPCMC at the Federal Administrative Centre, here.
“The IPCMC should make transparent the Standard Operation Procedures of the police so that the public know their rights as civilians. This would help to avoid misunderstanding and misconception of the public towards the police when carrying out their duties.
“IPCMC should understand and appreciate the high risks and heavy responsibilities of the police personnel and make recommendations to uplift the morale through better conditions of service, quality of training, pay and welfare scheme,” he said.
He said the IPCMC should consider the constraints faced by the police force, the insufficient resources, shortage of manpower and equipment and lack of housing for the police families.
He said while the IPCMC serves as the monitoring institution, the Royal Malaysian Police should also do their internal auditing to enhance their strengths and rectify their weaknesses.
“The police must earn public respect and confidence by taking actions against the few bad apples in the force. Any big organisation will have its share of bad apples and the police force is no exception.
“We should identify the root causes of the problems plaguing the enforcement agency in order to find solutions to solve the problems,” he said.
Also present were SAPP Vice President Gee Tien Siong and Supreme Council member Noraizal Mohd Noor.
Published in DE on 11 Nov 2019