On Sept 5, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat that the draft legislation for the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) has been completed and been distributed to agencies for feedback.

According to him the Attorney-General's Chambers is now awaiting feedback from these various agencies. I also heard over the weekend that the Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan is happy that the police's recommendations have been included in the draft of the IPCMC bill.

Over the last two years, various groups have raised concerns about the lack of transparency on the implementation of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police's 125 recommendations and in particular, the delay of the IPCMC bill since the commission had already drafted the bill when they released their report on June 12, 2005.

Concerns were also raised that despite the government's claim that they would be consulting non- governmental organisations and the public on the contents of the bill, none of the NGOs who deal with police abuse and reform were approached for their views and feedback

Now that the bill has been reviewed and redrafted by the AG's Chambers, it is crucial that the draft be extended to NGOs and all other stakeholders for comments. An open and transparent public debate on the bill before it is submitted to Parliament will send a signal to the Malaysian public that the IPCMC can be a credible external accountability body and that the government is serious of reforming the police.

The IPCMC should be given a mandate that ensures its independence and impartiality. The body should monitor patterns of complaints and of police performance, with a view to making public recommendations to assist the formulation of national level policing strategies for presentation to Parliament and to the wider public.

The bill must also enable it to be sensitive to the particular needs of vulnerable groups such as women, children and members of minority ethnic communities.

An effective external oversight mechanism will ensure that police practices recognise human dignity and the rights of every person in Malaysia, while providing them with effective protection from crime.

On the other hand, a weak and watered down IPCMC bill will not bring about effective change to the current climate of police impunity and will lead to a further erosion of public confidence in the police.