DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang today backed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's call for the police commission to start making recommendations as and when - without having to wait for the six-month deadline for its interim report or the one-year deadline for its final proposal.

In a press statement, Lim said it was important for the commission - currently into its fourth month of operations - to act with a sense of urgency on Abdullah's signal, as the public cannot tolerate more delays on police reforms.

He further proposed that the commission attempt to issue its interim report in time for parliamentary debate next week. The new parliamentary sessions begin next Monday.

Abdullah yesterday said the Special Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police - as it is known in full - will start proposing changes that can be implemented immediately, without waiting for government endorsement.

Under the terms approved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the police commission was given two deadlines: to release an interim report on Aug 4, and make its final recommendations on Feb 4 next year.

The premier said the decision was made following a meeting with commission chairperson Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, who agreed that certain proposals could be implemented immediately.

"When the commission tables its official report on proposals to the government, it can put a note on the steps that have been relayed to the police and action taken to implement them," Abdullah said.

It was the second time the prime minister had pressed the police commission for speedier results.

Last month, Mohamed Dzaiddin announced the commission's decision to abide by Abdullah's proposal to refer urgent cases to the Inspector-General of Police for immediate investigations.

PR problem?

Meanwhile, Lim, who is the Ipoh Timor MP, said the commission should act now, or risk even more dismal reactions to its public hearings, as had happened in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu last month.

"Is the commission's problem one of poor public relations, or it is something more fundamental - the gnawing and spreading lack of public confidence in the police commission because of its composition, terms of reference and modus operandi?" he asked.

One indicator, Lim said, was the decision to hold its public inquiry sessions behind closed doors. This, he added, ran counter to the commission's promise of conducting open and transparent proceedings.

The issue of racial imbalance should also sit high on the list of items to be tackled with urgency, said the DAP leader.

"The commission should be able to make preliminary recommendations on how to ensure multi-racial representation (in the police force)," he added.

The police force is overwhelmingly dominated by ethnic Malay Malaysians, with non-Malays making up an increasingly smaller proportion of new job applicants each year.

New Straits Times

today reported that a recruitment exercise in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend only managed to attract one Chinese Malaysian applicant, three non-Malay bumiputras, and 12 Indian Malaysians.

The commission was mooted by Abdullah last year following widespread loss of confidence in the force over complaints of excessive use of force and corruption.

In a separate development, Petaling Jaya residents fed-up with the district police's inaction on their complaints of two illegal gambling outlets took their grouses to the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters.

The premises, located about 100m from the Sea Park police station, were subsequently raided by a team from Bukit Aman.

Federal CID diirector Musa Hassan said the district police will have one week to explain their failure to act on the gambling dens.