Honest cops would have no fear of the IPCMC

"It is hoped the government carries out its promise to set up the IPCMC without any further delay, which I am certain will go down as one of its greatest achievements." 

– Ramkarpal Singh

Bukit Gelugor parliamentarian Ramkarpal Singh is correct. If Pakatan Harapan discovers its cojones and sets up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), this will go down as one of its greatest achievements, which frankly speaking is something the Harapan regime needs. 

People like to concentrate on the cops who are attempting to block this move but what the Wang Kelian hearings have shown us is that police corruption and political complicity go hand in hand.

We are not dealing with a single organism here. What we are dealing with is a complex network of political, business and state security personnel that is the basis of a black economy, dealing with everything from narcotics to human trafficking.

The fears of the rank-and-file are not really centred on the complex web of political patronage but rather on the banal everyday dysfunction of the state security apparatus. Three years ago, two siblings detailed the horror they experienced when they were detained by the state security apparatus. You can read about here and, of course, the feeble attempts by the police higher-ups for the brothers to make a “police report” which they said would be investigated in a fair and transparent manner.

This is what corrupt cops fear most with an IPCMC. That the average citizen will have an avenue to turn to if the state security apparatus abuses them and an independent body will then investigate their claims. It is a simple as that.

Well, okay, it is not as simple as that. All these cops who allegedly have a problem with an independent body “punishing” them are the kind of cops who believe that working without oversight comes with the badge. They are also worried that other cops who so far have been compliant to orders which they know are wrong or are just afraid that they would lose their jobs if they do not follow orders, would realise that now there is an independent body watching over them.

As someone who has been a part of the state security apparatus, I can tell you first-hand that personnel are not worried if they know that their own will “punish” them. What they are afraid of are “outsiders” poking their noses into their business. I get that some of my comrades will not like this kind of talk but this is exactly why the Harapan regime is getting pushback from the state security apparatus.

In addition, let us not forget that race and religion are part and parcel of the state security apparatus. The fact that political parties and right-wing pressure groups have always claimed that the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) is a “Malay” institution and attacks against the state security apparatus are an attack against the Malay community.

This, of course, is one of the numerous racial flashpoints in this country because the majority of the non-Malays view the state security apparatus as enablers to hegemonic Malay political structures. When then home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, for instance, advised a shoot-to-kill policy because the Malay community are normally the victims of crimes and the top Terengganu cop claims that Malays do not participate in gang culture, what we have to understand is that any attempt at oversight necessarily means confronting the racism and bigotry that permeates these institutions.

The silver lining is that honest cops would not have an issue with the IPCMC. In fact, they would welcome it. They would welcome it because they are sick and tired of always having to look over their shoulder. They would welcome it because it offers protection against the various hierarchical power structures that define the state security apparatus.

Which brings us, of course, to all these coddling statements by the prime minister and home minister about “reassuring” the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) that they are not being targeted. The truth of the matter is that the PDRM should be targeted. They should be held accountable for the deaths in custody, the torture, the corruption, the dereliction of duty. If you are an honest cop, you would have nothing to fear.

Instead, what the government is doing is attempting to negotiate with the PDRM. Attempting to demonstrate that they should not fear the IPCMC. The fact is, if you are corrupt, you should fear the IPCMC. And let me tell you something, the people who fear this independent commission are the people who have something to hide.

Whenever the state attempts measures which would reform the state security apparatus, organisations like the PDRM play the victim card. This, of course, is something they learnt from their political masters. This is an institution which gave us the Copgate affair.

The Cliff's Notes version here – “Nowhere is this more clear than in the infamous Copgate affair, where former Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Ramli Yusuff exposed the criminal underworld links between alleged mobster Goh Cheng Poh, or Tengku Goh, and the inspector-general of police then, Musa Hassan. Musa served as IGP from 2006 to 2010. This case points to the nexus between criminal enterprises, police collusions and political power.”

When former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi attempted to set up the IPCMC, BN parliamentarians objected to the move and the then Umno-owed Utusan Malaysia in an editorial wrote, "Although (these objections) were from several parliamentarians, we believe they are in line with the view of the majority of the rakyat."

Abdullah did not have the support of his political base when it came to this issue. Do Mahathir and Harapan now have the political will and the support of their bases to carry this out?

That remains to be seen.

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. A retired barrister-at-law, he is one of the founding members of the National Patriots Association. - Mkini