KUALA LUMPUR: The law ministry must be revived to spearhead institutional reforms, said a Bar Council member.
Human Rights lawyer, Andrew Khoo said when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister in 1981, he reduced the status of the law ministry to that of a department within the Prime Minister's Office.
"It is time to restore law and justice to its standalone ministry again. Such a ministry could then look into institutional reforms, crime and punishment," FMT quoted the Bar Council constitutional law co-chair as saying.
In addition, Khoo proposed that the prison department be transferred from the home ministry to the proposed law ministry to better deal with issues relating to the department.
"We have to ask questions about our ideas of justice. Questions such as why are our prisons overcrowded, and if simply sending people to jail is the answer, especially with drug-related offences.
"And how well are we doing with reform and rehabilitation presently, and what is our rate of recidivism?"
Khoo further said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) should also be placed under the jurisdiction of Parliament rather than the prime minister's department as it is now.
Additionally, he proposed a transparent appointment system for the top positions in these agencies, where members of the public can also make nominations for selection by MPs.
Separately, Khoo supported those who have criticised the government's decision to enforce the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) Act next year.
He called for the government to revive an earlier draft of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) bill proposed in 2019.
"The current iteration (IPCC) is worse than a toothless tiger."
Last Tuesday, home minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Abdullah told reporters on his first official visit to Bukit Aman, that the IPCC Act will be implemented in June next year.
The IPCMC, which was to replace the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) to improve transparency and accountability in the police force, was initially proposed in 2005 when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister, but a significant amount of opposition was received, particularly from the police.
In 2019, the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) government tabled the IPCMC Bill in Parliament. However, following the fall of the PH government, the IPCC Bill was introduced in its place in 2020.
In July of this year, the IPCC Bill - which critics describe as a watered-down version of the IPCMC Bill - became law.
The Malaysian Bar had called on Putrajaya to amend the IPCC Act to incorporate provisions found in the IPCMC since the former failed to meet expectations of a more transparent and better-regulated police force.