The royal commission on the police force has been granted a three-month extension to file its report to the King since complaints and suggestions are still pouring in.

However, its chairperson Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah told Bernama that no complaints and suggestions will be entertained after today.

"The final cutoff point is today, otherwise there will be no end," said the former chief justice, adding that the ongoing public inquiries will be completed by the commissioners.

The commission - known in full as the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police - was formed on Feb 4 last year.

It was tasked to investigate the role and responsibilities of the police in enforcing the country's laws, the human resource development for police personnel, the work ethics and procedures for police personnel and human rights issues related to police duties.

In its report, the commission will make recommendations to enhance and modernise the police force. It was earlier given a year deadline to submit the recommendations to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which ended yesterday.

According to a press release by the commission's secretary Hamzah Mohamed Rus yesterday, the King approved an extension of the commission's one-year timeframe until May 3

Thorough job

"We really require the extra time to write, translate and print the report," commissioner Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, who also chairs the Bar Council, told Bernama .

The commission is meeting every Monday and Thursday to finalise the report, while the commissioners are still holding inquiries on other days.

For example, said Kuthubul Zaman, the Police Watch Group met the commissioners a couple of weeks ago and he will be attending an inquiry into the case of an Internal Security Act detainee this Friday.

Commissioner Michael Yeoh, chief executive officer of Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute, told Bernama that Amnesty International had submitted a lengthy proposal two days ago, and he is also attending an inquiry into an allegation of illegal detention.

"We want to be able to do a thorough job of the report and to do that we need an extension to ensure that it is well written and captures everyone's contribution," said Commissioner Ivy Josiah, who is executive director of Women's Aid Organisation.

According to yesterday's press release, the commission has received the cooperation of the public, non-governmental organisations, professional organisations and political parties which provided information, feedback and suggestions as well as made complaints.

The commission has held 27 public inquiries across the country, which were attended by almost 550 complainants, and received over 400 letters and over 200 complaints through its website.

The commission visited police facilities and received briefings from the police, Anti-Corruption Agency, Public Services Department, Bank Negara Malaysia and Public Complaints Bureau.

"The commission is still being contacted by various organisations and the public who want to make complaints and give feedback," the commission said.

"The commission is still in the process of completing several unscheduled public inquiries which are urgent and which we believe should be completed quickly. All the information, feedback and statistics require detailed analysis, which takes time," it added.

The extension is needed to edit and print the report which is being written in both Bahasa Malaysia and English, the commission said. But if the report is completed sooner than expected, it will be submitted without delay.

Said commissioner Josiah: "I think we are all committed to May 3."