WHILE the public may have heard stories on how the Government uses the police force to silent dissent, the former can no longer afford to sweep the matter under the carpet now.
“We must understand that this time, a former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has come out in the open against the Home Ministry for meddling in police affairs.
“In the past, errant officers in the force were known as ‘black sheep’. However, the ex-IGP now calls it a cartel and they are involved in criminal activity. That’s how bad things have become,” Parti Sosialis Malaysia S Arutchelvan told FocusM.
Before retiring, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador went on a tirade against Home Minister Datuk Ser Hamzah Zainuddin, claiming the latter was interfering in police matters unnecessarily and blamed him for creating factions within the force.
The former top cop said that he had brought the matter to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin but no action was taken.
Hamzah himself was caught featured in an audio clip, discussing about promotions and transfer of police personnel.
While he admitted it was him in the clip, the Larut MP said there was nothing wrong in the conversation, adding it was his prerogative as the Police Force Commission (PFC) chairman to decide on the matter.
Recently, Hamid fired another salvo against Hamzah, claiming the latter had misused the Special Branch (SB) to take down his political rivals, which upset the intelligence unit as well.
Police force needs reforms
Touching on the matter, Arutchelvan said that Hamid’s chilling exposes brought back memories on how the police were implicated in several high-profile cases, such as the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaarribuu.
He added that the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) had also implicated the SB in the disappearance of activist Amri Che Mat and Pastor Raymond Koh, a case which still remains an unsolved mystery.
“Hamid had said that many opposed his decision to transfer several officers out, which means quite a lot of them are somehow linked to the cartel.
“So, you cannot ignore this matter anymore as the police’s credibility is badly tarnished,” Arutchelvan opined.
Offering solutions, the PSM leader said that the police force needs urgent reforms, starting by establishing an agency free from the Home Ministry’s reach, which will vet appointment and promotions of officers.
“For example, for appointments to our Judiciary, we have the Judicial Appointments Committee (JAC) to vet candidates. So, we need something like that for our police force,” the former Kajang councillor stated.
On calls for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to probe Hamid’s allegations, Arutchelvan responded positively to it but also noted on the lack of action following such measures.
“We had many RCIs in the past but the Government seldom acts on its recommendations. That’s why I believe we need to set up the Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to bring the much-needed reforms to our police force,” he remarked. May 7, 2021.
