KUALA LUMPUR: The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) has proposed the formation of a special task force to effectively address serious issues involving misconduct and integrity. 

Utusan Malaysia reported that its chairman, Tan Sri Dr Ismail Bakar, said the proposed special task force would allow for concerted investigations against law enforcement officers. 

He suggested that the task force would combine the powers of their respective agencies into one team to address integrity-related issues. He said the task force members should be granted all investigative powers as outlined in the Criminal Procedure Code.  

For instance, he said the task force could investigate corruption cases involving local authorities detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on suspicion of protecting "Ali Baba" premises controlled by foreigners.

 "If there is corruption, there is a money trail and MACC can act immediately. If we want to intervene, the local authorities are not under EAIC's supervision, except for the Immigration Department, which was found not to have conducted raids allowing the foreigners to be released.

 "That's why we need a special task force. With this task force, we can combine the powers within each agency into one team to collectively resolve integrity-related issues," he said in the report.

  The report said EAIC had the authority to mobilise a special task force with any other authority but this was subject to complaints involving enforcement agencies under the EAIC Act 2009 (Act 700). 

The act also restricts EAIC from investigating MACC and the Royal Malaysia Police in cases of integrity violations, even though both bodies are governed by their respective acts. 

"The reason given is that their internal processes are sufficient to investigate cases of misconduct and corruption within these two agencies. However, in my view, we cannot have an agency investigate its own wrongdoing. People will not trust it and it would seem to undermine the principles of integrity.

"That's why we need both internal and external audits. Why do we need independent consultants? Because we doubt each other," he said in the report. 

 Ismail said anyone could question the accuracy and validity of an investigation.

 He said anyone should be able to investigate MACC to ensure transparency and adherence to principles.

 He welcomed the government's effort to consider the proposal to include MACC and police officers misconduct under the Ombudsman Malaysia. 

 "Previously, there were calls that MACC should be placed under Parliament. The Ombudsman Malaysia should also be under Parliament if MACC is placed under Parliament. 

"If we want to show that our agency is clean, don't ask us to investigate ourselves because then something must be wrong. There should be both internal and external audits," he was quoted as saying in the report.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/1083262/eaic-chief-moots-task-force-address-misconduct-involving-law-enforcers