Civil rights groups have urged the police commission to put special emphasis on allegations of abuses of human rights by the police which have frequently come into the spotlight.

Commenting on the terms of reference set for the Special Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police, representatives of several groups said there has to be investigation into past abuses by the police so as to enable the commission to come up with proper improvements for the police force and to restore public confidence.

Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez said the move to hold the police accountable for their actions is a crucial element to improving their operations in the future.

"A major concern is that the commission may be looking at reforming the police force without bringing the police to account for things that have happened in the past. There must public hearings and the people who testify must be protected. Without this, things cannot move forward," she said.

Key among the complaints, she said, are those relating to alleged harassment by police officers.

"There has to be a re-education process and the police have to believe that people are innocent until proven guilty. There also has to be a stop to the use of sexual violence as a way of subordinating (arrested persons)," she said.

Fernandez said the commission can start by looking into past recommendations by civil rights groups on how to introduce a rights-based approach to police investigations.

For instance, she said a coalition of women's groups had previously come up with proposals for training modules, rape kits and suggestions on how to deal with domestic violence cases.

"Some initiatives taken some 10 years ago such as the police special rape squad were good but they failed because there were limited opportunities for the police women in the squad to be promoted after that. So these are also areas that the commission has to look into."

Tightening laws

Suaram co-ordinator S Arutchelvan said the police royal commission should be given the powers to investigate and to subpoena witnesses should it be necessary to facilitate its task.

Aside from that, he said the commission should also be permitted to receive submissions from the public and rights groups on grouses against the police.

"Most police abuses take place during the arrest and remand periods. There are people who have been shot dead during arrests. Some die in police custody.

"There are also complaints over the manner in which police investigations are carried out. Other kinds of violations include police conduct during public assemblies and when carrying out raids," he explained.

Elaborating on this, Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar said the commission should look into ways of improving and tightening the laws governing police conduct such as those contained in the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

To illustrate, Uthayakumar, who co-founded the Police Watch and Human Rights Committee - a police watchdog group - said one of the most abused provisions in the CPC is Section 117 which sets out police powers to remand individuals for investigation purposes.

"The provision clearly states that the police can remand an individual for up to 14 days if investigations cannot be completed within the first 24 hours. But what they are doing now is that they arrest people first and then go on a fishing expedition to gather information," he said.

To address this problem, he said the CPC should be amended for more clarity or to include provisions which hold the police accountable to their actions.

"Wrongly arrested persons could be given compensation if it is subsequently proven there are no grounds to their arrests. A separate body should also be set up to investigate complaints against the police since the police cannot be (relied upon) to self-regulate.

"There is a natural tendency for the police to cover up and protect each other. On previous occasions, we have seen police personnel who have been evasive when asked to testify against their fellow colleagues," he said.

Human rights training

Women's rights activist Irene Xavier said the a crucial step forward would be for the police commission to acknowledge that there exists the problem of violence against women in detention.

"So far, only women's groups have been bringing up these cases. The authorities have always denied the problem," she said.

Meanwhile, Suhakam vice-chairperson Simon Sipaun welcomed the inclusion of the human rights aspect to the terms of reference, although no Suhakam commissioners were included in the line-up.

Sipaun said the two commission's work need not overlap as both are focused on different areas.

"Suhakam's handling of human rights issues is mainly responsive to complaints. What we are also trying to do is to educate the police on human rights issues. So far, they have been quite receptive," he said when contacted today.

The government yesterday announced the appointment of the 16-member royal commission that will be headed by former Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah.

The commission will have to complete a preliminary report into its investigations within six months, followed by a full report within the next six months.