Barisan MP attacks government Bill on enforcement oversight

By Shannon Teoh - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 – The government’s reform bill on enforcement agencies came under friendly fire today from a senior backbencher who called on all MPs to study the bill clause by clause instead of working according to the political divide.

Barisan Nasional’s (BN) backbenchers deputy chief Datuk Bung Mokhtar attacked the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (Siap) Bill, the last in former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badawi’s reform package, saying that it could not guarantee that the 21 enforcement agencies, including the police, customs and immigration would be free from corruption.

Calling it a “waste of time and money,” he said that the added layer of checks by such a commission would only cause “difficulties” to the public as most enforcement officers were doing their jobs with integrity.

“Even with this commission, we cannot say for sure if crime will go up or down,” he said, referring to Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) repeated call for a stronger commission to probe the police.

“Siap should be an investigative body and not just a complaints department. If all it does is forward complaints to the Public Prosecutor, then it will just be delayed like other cases,” the Kinabatangan MP added.

But when pressed by opposition MPs if this meant he supported their stand that the body would not have sufficient power to operate, Bung evaded the question, insisting instead, that he was simply stating that he would not support a law that had no benefit to the public.

Abdullah’s reform package, which includes the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Judicial Appointments Commission have come under heavy but expected criticism from the opposition.

However, today’s attack by Bung reflected the unhappiness of BN MPs at what is perceived to be a capitulation to Pakatan Rakyat and a restriction on the status quo in the country where business and politics mix freely.

While the backbenchers may join the opposition in punching holes in Siap, it is still unlikely that they are ready to cross the floor when the bill comes to a vote.