To whom is the IGP accountable?

(Written on 31 March 2015, and not published elsewhere).

Last Monday evening, one of our IDEAS National Unity Youth Fellows, a young student from Universiti Malaya, heard that a few of his friends were arrested at the anti-GST protest in front of the Customs office in Kelana Jaya. Alarmed, he headed to the Kelana Jaya police station, where they were being held.

There was a crowd starting to gather, and as the police called on them to disperse, this student said he was suddenly pulled by his shirt and dragged into the station premises. I was told that the plainclothesman proceeded to perform a strong chokehold on him for several minutes until he protested weakly that he was unable to breathe. According to the student, the officer taunted at him saying, “Sikit je…!” (Just a little, that’s all!)

Yet another friend who was held in the lock-up that same night apparently had his head covered in a bag, and his face punched continuously. Both were also allegedly hit on their bodies. If this entire account is true, this raises serious concerns.

The spate of arrests over the last few weeks has centred on three issues: GST, the “KitaLawan” movement protesting the imprisonment of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, and hudud. Since 5 February, 158 people have been arrested, ranging from journalists, lawmakers, academics, lawyers and common individuals expressing themselves against policies they disagree with.

Never mind the fact that Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the right to assemble peaceably.

More disturbing is that the police force has relatively weak governance structures that would make it difficult to expect anything other than such rampant behaviour, when it suits the need. There are several key institutional problems here, to name a few.

First is that of appointment and tenure. The Police Act 1967 states that the Inspector General of the Police (IGP) is an appointed position, but nowhere does it provide for terms of service. In practice, he would serve the position until he reaches retirement age. The Royal Malaysian Police is unique amongst the civil services in that it has its own Police Force Commission, whose function includes the appointment of the IGP, as well as promotions and transfers of senior police officers.

This means that it is the Police Force Commission, and not the Public Services Commission, that determines appointments and promotions, in a much more independent manner. This has both costs and benefits, but from the police force’s perspective, this certainly acts as an advantage given they do not have to rely on the PSC to select and promote their own officers.

In fact, the Police Force Commission’s Chair is none other than the Home Minister, to whom the IGP reports and is responsible. Apart from the Chair, there are eight other members of the Commission, which include the IGP himself as well as the Secretary General at the Ministry of Home Affairs, both of whom report to the Minister. It is unclear from the information obtained on their website whether or not the IGP is involved in his own appointment, although one would imagine this to be a conflict of interest (a concept many a Malaysian entity fails to recognise).

Other members are to be appointed by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, and there are no clauses that require the Commission’s members to be independent parties. This could be an area well worth looking into, should there be interest in police reform.

Which brings us to the second issue of accountability. Despite the scale of arrests over the last month and its obvious implications on both national and international platforms, it is disconcerting that the Prime Minister, the ultimate commander-in-chief, has chosen to remain silent.

The Home Minister’s only response has been via a Parliamentary reply, saying the police have been fair in investigating complaints and the police force is among “the best in the world”. This statement is neither robust nor reasonable, given that the arrests have been obviously selective and targeted.

If, as the Royal Malaysian Police website says, their policy is to maintain “friendly policing” to the community, or khidmat mesra, then they very well ought to be publicly accountable. Are these arrests really making Malaysia a safer place?

Finally, there is the question of police behaviour in the way arrests are being made. The two young men this article begins with were allegedly beaten up for lending support to other friends. At a separate occasion, another man was reported as arrested by being forcibly dragged into an unmarked car, after alighting from a taxi.

In 2005, the Royal Commission for Police Reform came to several conclusions, amongst which included that there was “public perception of widespread corruption within the police force” and “extensive and consistent abuse of human rights and non-compliance with prescribed laws”.

Amongst its recommendations was to form an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to act as an external oversight body with the powers to receive and investigate complaints regarding alleged police misconduct and impose sanctions against those found guilty. The existing Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is not as effective in dealing with complaints of misconduct by law enforcement personnel.

Perhaps it is now time to revisit the IPCMC proposal, which would be a much stronger independent oversight and governance mechanism. Sure, there will be resistance; the IGP has already said he does not agree with its implementation.

But it is all the more imperative that the public has high expectations of its police force. The duties of the police are wide-ranging, ultimately to ensure people feel safe and secure. If anything, it is these arrests that have made people cower in fear, lest they say something the IGP finds personally unsavoury. It is to the public that he is ultimately accountable, and this must be time and again reiterated.

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