PARLIAMENT | The proposal for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be made "honorary commissioner chief of police” would make him liable for the force's wrongdoings in the future, claimed PKR MP Hassan Abdul Karim.
In the event Malaysia’s future government decides to ratify the Rome Statute, Hassan said it was hypothetically possible for the king to be held liable for any major misconduct such as genocide committed by the police, and this may include being summoned by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"Our country is a constitutional monarchy, the Agong is the head of state, a symbol and so on, not involved with the adminitration.
"But if this position and role, even if 'honorary', is included in that (Police Force Bill amendment), there is a concern that not now, but in the future, if acts of genocide, cruelty, violence are committed by the police, it could mean that the 'honorary commissioner chief of police' will be dragged to court, prosecuted and tried," he told the Dewan Rakyat during the second reading of Police Amendment Bill 2024 today.
While acknowledging that the bill has been vetted by relevant stakeholders, Hassan said the matter must be addressed in Parliament and urged the government to provide assurances that this is not cause for concern.
"It may happen like what was experienced by the former president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir and the former president of Chile (Augusto) Pinochet, not at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) but at the ICC for countries that ratify the Rome Statute," he added.
Two days ago, Bernama reported that amendments to the Police Act 1967 will involve changes to 10 clauses, including the insertion of a new Section 6A stipulating that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the “honorary commissioner-in-chief of the Royal Malaysia Police”.
According to the draft distributed in Parliament, the provision involves an amendment to Clause 2 of the legislation.
Clause 4 seeks to amend Section 21 providing for the obligation of police officers to carry out escort duties on any public road, and any person who obstructs opposes or fails to comply with police instructions may be fined up to RM10,000 and imprisoned for up to two years compared to the previous penalty of RM200 and two months’ imprisonment.
The amendment to Clause 5, on the other hand, seeks to increase the maximum fine from RM1,000 to RM2,000 for any person who fails to comply with a police order to stop before reaching any barrier erected or placed by any police officer, stipulated under Section 26.
Clause 6 involves changes to Section 66, which stipulates that any employer who fails to re-employ any reserve police officer is liable to a maximum fine of RM2,000 and a one-year jail term compared to RM1,000 and six months’ imprisonment previously.
It also provides that any police officer who fails to report for duty for 14 consecutive days without reasonable cause shall be deemed to have deserted and shall be guilty of an offence, an amendment to Section 86.
The First Schedule to the Act also seeks to delete the reference to “senior inspector” as the position is no longer available in the ranks of the police force. - Mkini
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