Former Bar Council chairperson Yeo Yang Poh blamed the people for giving the government an air of arrogance.

According to the lawyer, this is one of the three reasons as to why the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) has not been established.

"First is the continuing resistance from the police. Next, is the arrogance of the government. Lastly, it is the fault of the people for giving the government this air of arrogance because there is no threat of being replaced," he said.

Yeo was speaking at a panel discussion at the Second Year Review of the Implementation of the Royal Police Commission's Recommendations organised by Amnesty International and Suaram in Petaling Jaya today.

Things have been quiet on the IPCMC front with the last forthright update on its development being made by Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Baharum on Feb 16 this year.

Johari had said that the Attorney-General's Chambers was in the process of finalising the reports but failed to mention the date and the extent of the implementation.

Meanwhile, on April 11, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government will not rush into making any decisions and the matter is still with the AG's chambers.

New measures

In view of this, Yeo said new measures must be taken to stress the importance in setting up the IPCMC.

"We need to brainstorm new approaches. It is possible to put new elements in speeches to have say video clips because there's nothing more effective than to see people being mistreated.

"Perhaps we could also look at what younger people are looking for online and introduce the topic (of IPCMC) through these means so it's more accessible to people visiting the internet," he said.

He also pointed out that another problem faced by proponents for social change is apathy.

"Malaysians treat social change (issues) as a spectator sport. We have the (Opposition Leader Lim) Kit Siang, (PKR information chief) Tian Chua and (de facto PKR leader) Anwar Ibrahim and they think that's enough.

"We have to introduce an economic and an electoral element to it. You can get people to vote for change unless talk it in terms which they can relate to," he explained.

Dismal state

The IPCMC was proposed by the Royal Police Commission two years ago to enhance the image and accountability of the police force after the nude squat issue.

The proposal was welcomed by human rights groups and politicians. Even the premier had given it the green light.

However, the protracted delay in the setting up of the commission has caused concerns in all quarters.

Yeo was speaking alongside Lim and Human Rights Commission of Malaysia commissioner Dr Denison Jayasooria. The panel was chaired by academician Yeoh Seng Guan.

A report card on the implementation of the Royal Police Commission's recommendations showed that human rights violations and corruption committed by the police remain in a dismal state.

"We believe that the lack of progress in implementing (these) recommendations especially the matters dealing with human rights is due to the lack of political will on the part of the Malaysian government," it stated.