Kuala lumpur: A draft Cabinet Memorandum with recommendations from the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission's (EAIC) committee on custodial deaths was submitted to the Prime Minister's Department in December last year. This document, which includes proposed preventive measures, was prepared by a special task force established to implement the committee's recommendations following a comprehensive review of the EAIC Study Committee Report.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the report was initially presented to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during a meeting of the Cabinet Special Committee on National Governance (JKKTN) on May 7, 2024. At this meeting, it was resolved to establish the task force responsible for the memorandum. The EAIC, in a statement today, highlighted critical aspects of the memorandum, noting that its 19 members, drawn from 13 ministries, departments, and agencies, including the EAIC, provided comprehensive feedback and expressed broad agreement with the report's recommendations.

The memorandum seeks Cabinet approval for 13 preventive measures designed for all enforcement bodies involved in detainee management, particularly the Immigration Department and the Royal Malaysia Police. The Commission noted that these recommendations would have financial and legal implications, necessitating separate evaluation and refinement before practical implementation.

The EAIC emphasized that the Study Committee's report is expected to assist the government in enhancing existing policies and developing stronger new ones by identifying systemic shortcomings that lead to custodial deaths and improving inter-agency cooperation in protecting human rights. The submission of the draft Cabinet Memorandum, it added, demonstrates the sustained commitment of the EAIC and all relevant agencies to improve detention centre governance across Malaysia and to prevent custodial deaths.