Voon Lee Shan
KUCHING (May 4): A Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) needs to be set up to investigate the allegations of interference in the police force by politicians, said Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan.
The former police officer and a lawyer before entering politics was referring to the recent allegations by outgoing Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.
“The first and foremost thing to do is to restructure the composition of the Police Force Commission (PFC) which at the moment is headed by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
“PFC has very wide powers concerning the appointment, confirmation, emplacement on the permanent or pensionable establishment, promotion, transfer and exercise of disciplinary control over members of the police force,” added Voon in a statement yesterday.
Apart from that, Voon also said that the Home Minister and politicians should not sit in the commission as they can easily interfere or exercise influence on how the police force is run or managed in combating crime and enforcement of the law.
With the Home Minister and politicians in the commission, Voon feared that their presence would put pressure on police officers whose promotion and transfer are at their discretion.
“Promotion and selection of IGP to become directors in the police force should be placed under a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) and not under the PFC. PSC on the other hand should be empowered to interview and conduct investigation on the suitability of candidates for promotion or for the post,” said Voon.
Besides that, PSC should comprise Members of Parliament from both the government and the opposition, a representative of the Malaysian Bar, retired senior judges and distinguished personalities in society from Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, he suggested.
On a related matter, Voon also called for the establishment of a Police Complaints Commission (PCC) to investigate all improprieties or misconduct of police officers, which should also have the powers to take disciplinary action and to prosecute the offenders in court.
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