Macc Police Need Reforms To Ensure No Repeat Of 1mdb Dap

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There is an urgent need to push for reforms in the police and MACC to ensure no repeat of the 1MDB scandal, DAP chairperson Gobind Singh Deo said.
He said this in a statement reflecting on the 1MDB verdict, which found former premier Najib Abdul Razak guilty of abuse of power and money laundering.
Gobind said the Madani government has already enacted some reforms, including taking steps towards separating the post of attorney-general and public prosecutor.
"But more must be done. There is now an urgent need to also push for reforms in enforcement agencies that deliver real change.
"Recent cases such as the shootings of three individuals in Malacca and the cases involving the death of inmates in police stations and prisons are further examples of how problems which have been apparent for decades continue. This can and must be dealt with urgently.
"There must likewise be urgent changes at the MACC. There are serious concerns over how certain arrests, investigations and cases are handled. The oversight mechanisms currently provided need to be reviewed and strengthened," he said in a statement yesterday.
Gobind and DAP had previously been proponents of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) - which exists in a watered-down and toothless form as the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC).
One key difference is that the IPCC can't take any action against errant police officers. Instead, action must be referred to the Police Force Commission or other relevant authorities.
MACC controversies
The MACC, too, has had its share of controversies, including the perception that investigations are impacted by who is in power.
For example, when Najib was in power, the MACC had described funds transferred to the then prime minister's private accounts as a donation, not from 1MDB.
Moreover, then-MACC investigation director Azam Baki - who now heads the graftbuster- told reporters that its investigators had met with the supposed donor.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, in his ruling last Friday, found the Arab donation defence to be "incapable of belief", while letters purportedly from the Arab donors were forgeries.
At present, the MACC has been accused of dragging its feet in the Sabah mining license scandal, with only two out of over a dozen politicians implicated charged.
Good governance
Gobind said DAP acknowledged the work done by enforcement agencies in dealing with and resolving crime.
"(But) we must also accept that there are problems which must be dealt with. We must improve if we are to inspire greater confidence moving ahead.
"To do this, we need to deliver on reforms, develop better mechanisms which enhance good governance and build new structures needed in Malaysia to ensure that cases like these," the Damansara MP said.
DAP is on a crusade to enact reforms by May next year, a pledge it made after being wiped out in the Sabah election.
Besides police and MACC reforms, DAP has also pledged to ensure that the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) is recognised. - Mkini

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