Nazri: IPCMC would have been “unconstitutionalâ€
By Zedeck Siew
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KUALA LUMPUR: The government rejected the proposal to set up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconducts Commission (IPCMC) because its powers were "too broad" and unconstitutional.
"The IPCMC would have acted as investigator, prosecutor, judge, and executioner simultaneously," de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz told Parliament today.
"The (IPCMC) concept contravenes principles found in the Federal Constitution and existing laws," he added.
Nazri argued that the commission's powers to punish and indict would go against Articles 140 and 145 of the Federal Constitution. These articles concern the powers of the Attorney General and the Police Force Commission.
Nazri noted that constitutionally, the power to prosecute lay solely with the Attorney General.
Nazri, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, was responding to a question from DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang during the debate of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (Siap) Bill 2009 today. The Bill is currently in its second reading and is expected to be passed by the end of the current parliamentary sitting.
