Opposition MPs protest against new amendments in IPCMC bill

PARLIAMENT | Opposition MPs strongly protested against the sudden inclusion of 24 new amendments to the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill, which was tabled for its second reading in the Dewan Rakyat by Law Minister Liew Vui Keong today.

"I have more than 20 years of experience in Parliament, I have never seen so many amendments to a new act.

"There are 24 amendments. Why not bring it to a select committee first, as we used to do?" Noh Omar (BN-Tanjong Karang) said after Liew finished his tabling of the bill.

He voiced his dissatisfaction over the new amendments, saying it is not right to ask the parliamentarians to dive right into the debates on the bill as they were only informed about the 24 amendments today.

Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon called for the debate on the IPCMC bill to start and it saw more protests from the opposition MPs.

"Pass it at the policy stage first? So when you already pass it, (it is like) you marry first then only discuss?" argued Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam).

Rashid then said they can bring their concerns during the debates.

Noh agreed with Wee (above) that they should not start the debate on the IPCMC bill first, as it should have been brought to a special committee first.

"What are we debating for? What are we debating for?

"If we bring it to the select committee (after the debate) and there are amendments, will it be brought back for debate again?

"It is a waste of time. Debating on it twice," Noh said.

Hishammuddin Hussein (BN-Sembrong) also stood up to protest against this move, saying the IPCMC bill is also about the morale of the police force and should be treated with more respect.

Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang) stressed that the normal procedure is for such amendments to go through a select committee first.

"If you bring it to the Dewan (Rakyat) and it is passed, and then only you bring it to the select committee, there is no meaning to the select committee," Azalina said.

The opposition MPs were not the only ones to be concerned over this turn of events. Hassan Abdul Karim (Harapan-Pasir Gudang) also agreed that this matter should first be brought to a select committee.

"If possible, the motion should be discussed by a select committee first. No need for it to be technical, just the policies and the results of the select committee should be brought to the Dewan Rakyat," Hassan (above) said, prompting various opposition MPs to loudly voice their support for him.

However, the argument remained unresolved at the time of writing as the deputy speaker adjourned the sitting for lunch at 1pm.

Earlier today, Deputy Law Minister Hanipa Maidin tabled a motion to extend today's sitting until the completion of the second reading of the IPCMC amendment bill.

This also met resistance from the opposition MPs who insisted this was an issue of public interest which deserved more scrutiny.

Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof eventually decided in favour of Hanipa's motion.

[More to follow]

- Mkini