KUALA LUMPUR, June 11- Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan today denied that he had equated the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) in its current form to the proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as suggested by DAP publicity chief Tony Pua.
Low in expressing his grave disappointment said his statement yesterday had been blatantly misinterpreted by the Petaling Jaya Utara MP for reasons best known only to the latter.
Pua in a statement quoted from the Malaysian Insider today said that Low was “sorely mistaken” in saying the difference between the two was merely in their names, insisting the EAIC was only set up in 2011 to placate widespread demand for the IPCMC.
“This was not my meaning at all. Clearly, even a teenager would be able to conclude that my intention was never to equate the EAIC in its current form tothat of the IPCMC proposed by the RCI in 2005,” Low said in a statement.
He said the prime minister and other cabinet ministers were fully aware of the weaknesses of the EAIC in its curent state.
He added that they were all behind him to conduct a thorough study and consultation with concerned parties to put together a detailed proposal to beef up the EAIC, even by possibly re-adopting some of the RCI’s earlier proposals.
Low said the end purpose was to get an effective and independent commission with the right people, tools and scope of influence to regulate not just the police, but also various other enforcement agencies where there might arise serious cases of abuse.
“I fail to see how much clearer I can make it understood that my team and I are doing our level best to come up with long-term solutions that will meet this pressing and very real need, which the rakyat (people) are also crying out for,” he said.
– BERNAMA
