The confusion on whether the government would set up an ombudsman or the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) breeds uncertainty and undermines the credibility of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's leadership.

The general confusion will not inspire confidence in the government's seriousness in improving its delivery system and the quality of life of the people, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guang Eng in a statement today.

"The 'now you see it, now you don't' ombudsman would be an entertaining magic show if it did not breed uncertainty, undermine Abdullah's credibility and feed further concerns of decisiveness over his leadership," he added

Lim was commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's statement this morning that the government had not made any decision on the ombudsman.

Najib directly contradicted a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz yesterday that the government would set up an ombudsman to look into the complaints against the authorities, including ministers, he said.

Full support

Lim also pledged DAP's full support for the establishment of the ombudsman, especially widening its jurisdiction to investigate ministers.

However, he said an ombudsman should not negate or give the government an excuse to 'wriggle out' of the commitment made by the prime minister to set-up the IPCMC.

He said any failure to set up the IPCMC would not only adversely affect the reputation of Abdullah as the prime minister in charge and full control of the cabinet and the police.

"For Abdullah to immediately back down and surrender when the IGP (inspector-general of police) publicly announced his disagreement shows that the IGP and not the premier is in charge," he added.

To show who is boss, he said Abdullah must take disciplinary action against the IGP for publicly repudiating him.

"Abdullah's failure to do so and Nazri's announcement that the ICPMC will not be formed has unfortunately highlighted that he is probably the only man in cabinet wanting to reform the police," he added.

Public interests and accountability requires the prime minister to publicly clear the confusion and clarify the situation, he said.

Custodial deaths

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang today welcomed the setting-up of the ombudsman but said it should not be at the expense of the IPCMC.

He also dismissed Nazri's argument that it would be unfair to the police to set up a specific body to keep tabs on the police when other enforcement agencies also received complaints.

"If the police in developed countries like United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the United States can accept the idea of external oversight mechanisms, why is the Malaysian police so resistant?" he asked.

This raises the question whether the police in Malaysia accept the democratic principle that the police is subordinate to civilian authority and accountability or they believe that they are a law unto themselves, he said

The Francis Udayapan case and the long list of police custody deaths which had not been properly investigated in inquests as required by law, have strengthened the case for the establishment of the IPCMC.