ADUN SPEAKS | MACC should be answerable to Parliament

ADUN SPEAKS | Wouldn’t it be a good idea to place enforcement agencies such as the MACC under the purview of Parliament instead of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC)?

It is obvious that the EAIC was set up to circumvent calls for the establishment of an Independent Police Misconduct Commission (IPMC).

Established in 2009, EAIC was entrusted to investigate complaints against enforcement agencies.

However, while the agency can recommend actions against the personnel involved, it cannot prosecute the officials concerned.

There are 21 enforcement agencies under the purview of the EAIC with the exception of the MACC and the Prisons Department.

This is the reason why the EAIC cannot even investigate cases of custodial deaths in prisons.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said yesterday suggested that the MACC might be placed under the purview of the EAIC.

However, before this can be done, the legislation that gave rise to the EAIC needs to be amended.

I am not sure what amendments Azalina talked about other than the need to incorporate the inclusion of the MACC under the EAIC.

Can’t expect much

The EAIC has been criticised as a poor substitute for the IPMC as it lacks the teeth or enforcement powers.

The police have been adamant in not according enforcement powers to the EAIC.

The EAIC is merely an investigation agency, it really cannot be expected to do much.

However, it cannot be denied that under the former chairperson and judge Yaacob Md Sam, it was very critical of the men in blue.

There is nothing wrong in placing the MACC under the EAIC, but other than the normal purview nothing further can be expected from it.

Since Azalina is part of the reform government, maybe she can contemplate two things that are much needed.

One is to ascertain whether the government can think of establishing the long-delayed and much-needed IPMC - an effective way to check police abuses especially custodial deaths.

The other is whether the MACC should be made answerable to Parliament.

I am sure the government of the day will have much public traction if the two mentioned items are seriously contemplated.

P RAMASAMY is the Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.