IPCMC Bill postponed to next Parliament session

PARLIAMENT | The government has postponed the second and third readings of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission 2019 (IPCMC) Bill to the next Parliament session in March next year.

This was announced by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong (above), who was initially scheduled to table the bill this afternoon, as listed on the day's order paper.

His announcement in the Dewan Rakyat was met with cheers from the opposition bench with BN MPs shouting "kita menang!" and urging for the bill to be postponed indefinitely.

This is the second time debate on the IPCMC Bill has been postponed.

Last October, the bill was referred to the Parliament’s Special Select Committee to be discussed more thoroughly before being taken to the Dewan Rakyat.

The decision was made by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Arif Md Yusof after Liew clarified that the law was not being formulated in a hurry to show that the Pakatan Harapan government appreciated all views made by the MPs.

The IPCMC Bill was first tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on July 18, and will replace the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) to improve the integrity and capabilities of the Royal Malaysia Police.

At a press conference later, Liew said tabling of the Bill in March is to allow all the relevant stakeholders to give more views.

Liew also denied claims by the opposition that views critical of the IPCMC had been ignored.

"They have made their comments in the PSC report, so I guess you can see that in the report later when it is uploaded in the portal parliament.

"The opposition views have been taken care of and the views of all the people on the ground have also been taken care of," said Liew, who credited the PSC members for their efforts over six weeks to prepare the report.

On feedback from the police, Liew said, overall, there were mixed responses with supporting and opposing views.

[More to follow] - Mkini