Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi must apologise to the Dewan Rakyat for his reply on the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Committee (IPCMC) or he will be referred to the rights and privilege committee, a DAP parliamentarian said.

NONE DAP’s Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming (left) said this is because Zahid’s reasoning - that the IPCMC cannot be implemented as it is unconstitutional - is “misleading”.

“I am giving him a chance to apologise during the winding-up session (of the debate). I hope he is gentlemanly enough, a statesman, to admit it is a mistake,” Nga told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

“If he does that, (then) it is not necessary to refer him to the committee.”

Nga, a lawyer, also said that Articles 140(1) and 140(2) of the federal constitution show it is "undisputed that Parliament is empowered to pass any law to govern and exercise disciplinary control over members of the police force".

This, he said, covers the formation of the proposed IPCMC.

"One must remember that, according to Zahid's reply, it was revealed that there were 231 custodial deaths over the last 10 years.

"Death in police custody is a manifestation of cruelty, brutality and severe infringement of human rights by the authority (and) must be (treated) with utmost seriousness.”