Sunday, March 15, 2009

EAIC a powerless entity

Most of us are gravely disappointed with the tabling of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) bill in parliament on last Wednesday.

The bill clearly shows that it failed to address the fundamental characteristics of a complaint as it lacks the independent enforcement powers to provide effective checks and balances in a fair and transparent manner.

The attorney-general who is a political appointee of the prime minister will be vested with full powers in decision making in the EAIC thus, defeating the notion of a case being handled and disposed of in a truly independent, just and credible manner.

Grave concerns were also raised on the effectiveness and efficiency of the EAIC in handing and covering about 21 public enforcement agencies. It will definitely make the commission redundant and ineffective in its function as it will be impossible for a single commission of such limited capacity and resources to be able to handle all cases of about 21 public enforcement agencies of vast different procedures and operational orders.

Therefore, we urge the federal government to go back to original proposal of setting up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as recommended by the Royal Commission on the Police Force in the year 2006, instead of going round and round giving numerous excuses and reasons to avoid the IPCMC bill.

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