Tears ran down a policeman's cheeks as he heard a parliamentarian expressing gratitude to the police force and vowing to lend it support. By then, tears were flowing freely among a number of his colleagues as well.

This was a scene at a closed-door meeting held two weeks ago between some 100 backbenchers and police officers.

Barisan Nasional Tangga Batu MP Idris Haron, who was present, revealed that the weeping fit was brought on when BN MPs provided motivation for the police force during a question-and-answer session.

Idris is among a number of Umno backbenchers who have opposed the recommendation to create the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as a way of checking police excesses.

"(The IPCMC) will come in like a giant to say 'you can't do this, you can't do that'. Many people can take advantage of the IPCMC," argued Idris, who has held two discussion sessions with the police in his capacity as an Umno Youth leader.

Debate on the IPCMC heated up in the Dewan Rakyat last week, with Umno backbenchers for the first time making public their opposition to the main recommendation of the Police Royal Commission in its report last May.

The about-turn has puzzled many since a number of the backbenchers - including their chief Shahrir Abdul Samad - had backed the proposal.

Opposition MPs have gone to the extent of describing their action as a "revolt" against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who had initiated the royal commission to examine ways of improving the management and operations of the police force.

Change of heart

In justifying the latest development, some backbenchers now claim that the premier had never specifically agreed to the creation of the IPCMC, but that he had merely agreed with the need for an independent police watchdog to keep tabs on police performance and to deal with complaints.

However, it is clear that Abdullah had given the green light for the IPCMC to be set up. He told Parliament that he would implement all the 125 recommendations of the commission, whose members included former inspector-general of police (IGP) Hanif Omar.

Idris was among those who dismissed speculation that the BN MPs had been compelled by the whip to oppose the IPCMC.

He said the change of heart had come about because of the extensive investigative powers for the watchdog body, as outlined in the IPCMC draft bill. This provides for checks into police misconduct not just within Malaysia, but also to cover those off-duty as well as actions outside the country.

Said the MP: "They could lose their jobs anytime... besides, there are also problems associated with their welfare and heavy workload."

IGP's lament

This was consistent with the grounds of objection expressed by IGP Mohd Bakri Omar in a speech at a routine department meeting in Bukit Aman in February - more than a month before his openly stated 'No to IPCMC' speech at the 199th Police Day celebration last Saturday.

"We reject the draft bill which gives absolute powers to the IPCMC to investigate and initiate proceedings into allegations of misconduct against any police officer, where its decision is final and cannot be challenged in any court of law," he said in his Feb 13 speech posted on the police force website.

"This is far different from the powers vested in the Police Force Commission and other disciplinary body whose decisions are appealable if the accused police officer is dissatisfied with the decision, especially in cases involving termination of service."

The police force commission, headed by Abdullah in his capacity as internal security minister, is an internal mechanism responsible for the appointment, confirmation, promotion, transfer and exercise of disciplinary control over members of the police force.

While Bakri (right) said police are trained to be "guardians of the law" and to act with justice, he also revealed frustration that the personnel are not able to express unhappiness over the IPCMC proposal, as this would be seen as disrespect to the Police Royal Commission and the government.

"Although we have freedom of expression, this does not mean we are free to stage a demonstration to express our stance (on the IPCMC) to the government," he said, reminding police personnel to use "available channels" instead.

'Not good enough'

MCA's Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee, however, took a different view of police resistance, attributing this to "ego" and refusal to let go of autonomy, since the personnel would be investigated by an external mechanism under the IPCMC.

Wong said he could not see any "good reasons" for backbenchers changing their mind, but he believed this was linked to their meeting with the police.

Gerakan Wanita chief and Bukit Gantang MP Tan Lian Hoe had this to say: "I don't see any harm in setting up the IPCMC. This would revive public confidence in the police by removing the bad apples. So what are they so unhappy about?"

Members of the now-dissolved Police Royal Commission appear unable to push their recommendations. Commissioner Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, met at the Bar Council AGM on March 18, said it was up to the government to decide.

At the AGM, the Bar Council passed a motion calling on the government and Abdullah to implement the 125 recommendations as a matter of urgency.

Possible Plan 'B'

So, what's next after the hue and cry? Two possibilities are on the cards.

Either the IPCMC will be watered down to just another government enforcement agency or the government will go with the opinions of the IGP and many Umno backbenchers to strengthen the police force commission.

Even choosing the second option could see various ideas being bandied about. Idris, for example, suggested that a new 'police service monitoring department' be created under the commission.

He said its terms of reference would be similar to those proposed for the IPCMC and that members would comprise representatives of leading NGOs, MPs and retired police officers.

"The police basically do not want to take up any idea of (external) monitoring... they say the police force commission is enough. But I want some monitoring mechanism in place. This proposed department would be answerable to the prime minister and the police force commission, not to Parliament."

Wong rejected this idea. He argued that the police force commission has failed, as proven by deteriorating public trust in the police force, and that there are currently no checks and balances in the internal mechanism.

"If we don't have something separate from the police force, we can't go forward," he said.

At present, the police force commission is required to submit an annual report to Parliament. Based on previous annual reports, disciplinary action has mainly been meted out for errors linked to duties, disobedience, tarnishing the police force image and inefficiency.

Action was taken against 1,164 police personnel in 2004, an increase of 23 cases from 2003. This, however, is seen as the tip of the iceberg, since a spate of allegations about police abuse and bribery lodged by civil society groups has not been acted upon.

Another possibility is that an ombudsman may be created to oversee all enforcement agencies including the immigration and customs department.

The significance of such a move is that it would ensure a more neutral monitoring system, rather than one that targets the police force.

One government leader who is supportive of the ombudsman proposal remarked: "We can't afford to set up more commissions. Are we going to set up a royal immigration commission or royal customs commission whenever problems crop up?"

However, the ombudsman usually does not have investigative powers, unlike IPCMC.

Abdullah has until May - the deadline proposed by the Police Royal Commission to set up IPCMC - to show if he means business in talking about reform or if he will back down due to pressure from his boys in Umno.

As Wong stressed: "This is (about) political will. It is only political power than can push through the IPCMC."

BEH LIH YI is a member of the malaysiakini team.