SUARAM expresses serious concern over the government’s schedule to re-table the Special Complaints Commission (SCC) Bill instead of the Independent Police Complaint and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill in this current session of the Parliament, as indicated by Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz.

According to Nazri Abdul Aziz, final version of the SCC bill has not been completed. It will be reviewed by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak dan Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar shortly.

We welcome the government’s effort in making amendments to the previous version of the SCC bill as it may be a good sign that the government is taking serious attention to the memorandum entitled “Memorandum of Civil Society Organisations to the Parliament on the Proposed Special Complaint Commission Bill”, submitted by 44 civil society organizations to then Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz on 18 December 2007.

However, we would like to remind the government that the standard of this proposed SCC bill should not lower than the IPCMC bill drafted by the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police.

Among others, the drafted SCC bill should include the concern of the need for an independent complaint mechanism to make the police accountable to the public for their actions and omission to act on public complaints. This was emphasized by the Royal Commission in its 2005 report, that the internal mechanisms currently governed by police themselves are inadequate, unreliable and frequently ineffective.

Secondly, the Bill should empower this complaint mechanism with powers to conduct independent investigations into public complaints against the police force. In the previous proposed SCC Bill, all public complaints will only be redirected to the police for investigation. It raises serious doubts in the public as to how the police force can effectively investigate complaint against themselves, especially when it involves high ranking police officers.

Thirdly, this mechanism should have power to impose punishments to police personnel found guilty after the investigations are conducted, as recommended in the original IPCMC bill.

We also urge the government to make the proposed SCC Bill available for public comments and to initiate consultation with civil society to address public concerns with regards to the Bill before tabling it in Parliament. The bill should not be devoid of public participation and consultation and the general public should not be kept in the dark. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi should keep to the promise he made to the public in 2004 to ensure greater accountability and transparency.

Finally, we would like to remind Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on his wish to the Police when announcing the Royal Police Commission in 2004, that “the Police must be well-versed in human rights when discharging their duties and dealing with the public. Issues such as police violence, unsatisfactory service, corruption and other negative issues must be eradicated”.

We are looking forward to an SCC bill that will be a powerful body that can realize the above wishes, as well as transform the police force to be more responsible, professional and accountable to the public for their actions.

Moon Hui

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)