Backbenchers Club chairperson Shahrir Samad said today the government should set up the independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (PCMC) to check the alleged police abuses and complaints against the force.

"There's nothing wrong in having a complaints board which is structured to listen to both sides and to be fair," he told reporters when met at the Parliament lobby.

The Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police had recommended in its report unveiled in May the formation of the PCMC to oversee public complaints against the police.

Shahrir said the recommendation by the commission should therefore be implemented accordingly.

"I think there's no point in setting up the commission if you don't implement their recommendations. You cannot only take soft options but not the hard ones.

"We would like the recommendations of the commission to be implemented because it will help the police in performing their duty more effectively," he said.

Besides, the PCMC, the Royal Police Commission also outlined in its report 124 other recommendations to improve the police force.

Noh's comment 'unhelpful'

Shahrir also said the procedures in police lock-ups should be improved or changed in accordance to current developments.

"There have been a lot of documented police abuse. While this does not reflect the police force in totality, these things do happen to detainees in custody," he said, adding that enforcement methods should be improved as well to assist the police.

"We are well aware that police manpower expansion has not been in tandem with the population's expansion while methods of enforcement have not kept up with technology," he said.

Commenting on Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar's contentious remarks asking foreigners to go back home if they think Malaysia is a cruel country, Shahrir said it was 'appropriate' that Prime Minister Abdullah Abdullah Badawi had ticked him off.

"I think it's appropriate. The comment (by Noh) was not helpful and went against what the PM had said," said Shahrir.

Noh's remark on Tuesday had sparked a public outcry. Yesterday, he put the blame on the media as having misinterpreted him but said he was willing to apologise if his statement offended anyone.