Tony Pua Describes EAIC a Toothless Tiger

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SHAH ALAM, June 10: The DAP Publicity Secretary today described the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) as a toothless tiger and that its establishment is only cosmetic work to calm the crowd behind the insistence of the recommendations to form an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) and vocal protests from the police.

Tony said this to refute claims by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Paul Low who likened the EAIC with the establishment proposal of the IPCMC.

The difference between the two is obvious in their intent. Instead, Tony insisted for the EAIC which was established in 2011 to be only given power to make recommendations to the disciplinary organs of the police and the prosecutors.

The establishment is merely intended to appease widespread insistence for the IPCMC to be established at the time.

“While the IPCMC, as recommended by the Royal Investigation Commission upon the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) in 2005, is clearly an agency to examine discipline and to foster professionalism in the police force.

“Obviously, the EAIC specifically designed to fail the objectives of the IPCMC,” he stressed in a media abatement.

Elaborating, Tony said that over the past three years since its inception, the EAIC which receives an annual budget of RM7 million only has one investigating officer in addition to 23 other employees; including clerks and drivers.

The statement issued by the former Chief Justice, Abdul Hamid Mohamad that until the end of 2012, EAIC only recommended one disciplinary action and issued two warnings to civil servants which also proved that the body is not effective.

“The fact that the government is not serious, with only one investigating officer to oversee 19 governmental agencies such as the Customs Department, the national Anti-Drug Agency, the Road Transport Department and so on, are evidence that the overall intent of the EAIC activities is to fail,” he added.

What is even more regrettable, explained Tony, is that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department so quickly adapted to the BN culture of fraud by breaking his promise to support the proposal of the IPCMC which according to him is higher in status compared to the EAIC.

Paul Low, who at the time was the President of Transparency Integrity Malaysia once said that the government’s action to liquidate the proposal of the IPCMC is a clear indicator that the government is unable to control the authorities.

In a statement yesterday, Paul Low announced that the government is taking ‘about the same’ decision to not implement the IPCMC but will conduct a lot of reshuffling to improve the existing EAIC.


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