'Stern action vital, whether it is IPCMC or EAIC'

When it comes to custodial deaths and abuse of power by enforcement agencies, says Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, what is important is "stern action" and not which agency is taking it.

"The rakyat wants stern action, whether from an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) or whatever agency.

"Its not important what agency does the work. What is important is that the work gets done," Khairy said at a press conference in Sepang, Selangor today.

He stressed that a strengthened Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC), if it could conduct speedy and through investigations into custodial deaths and abuse of power, would do just as well.

The minister also reiterated that the cabinet was serious in resolving the issue of deaths in custody and misuse of authority by enforcement personnel.

"I agree with, and am bound with the cabinet decision mooted last week, that deaths in custody must be handled as it is becoming prevalent, of late."

Short- and long-term decisions

Khairy said that one of the cabinet’s short-term resolve, is to bring those alleged to be responsible for the recent custodial deaths to the courts as soon as possible.

On the long-term resolutions, he said that the cabinet’s decision was:

• To study and look at the current police standard operating procedure;

• To form permanent Coroner’s Courts to speed up inquests; and

• To strengthen the EAIC, especially in resources and manpower which it currently lacks.

On another note, Khairy - who was on his maiden ministerial visit to Institut Kemahiran Tinggi Belia Negara where he had been briefed on the state of affairs of agencies under his purview - said that more allocations should be given to improve vocational training for youths, as it is an important sector for youth upskilling before they enter the job market.

As the minister responsible, he said, he believes that this is important for the nation, and pointed out that the issue right now is not modules and courses, but the fact that there is not enough capacity to handle all that apply.

Khairy noted that more money would help increase capacity, even though without building new training centres, they could have multiple learning shifts per day.

He also wants new steps taken to introduce entrepreneurism in training centre graduates, as this will open up more options for trained youths to be entrepreneurs themselves, rather than just workers.