HOME Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin’s move to halt the transfer of police officers slapped with disciplinary action goes against Police Act 1967.
“It’s done in bad faith and is against the law. Any attempt to derail our Inspector-General of Police’s (IGP) attempt to clean up the force is seen as act of sabotage and goes against the will of the people,” said Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan president Brigadier-General Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji.
Recently, IGP Tan Sri Hamid Bador revealed that Hamzah had halted the transfer of several police officers. The former issued the directive as the officers were said to be facing disciplinary issues.
Yesterday, Hamid announced that he will be meeting the minister to explain why he made the decision.
“The matter (transfer of senior police officers) should be carried out by me, as the IGP, in which the law states that the command and control, regulating PDRM is my responsibility.
“There was nothing extraordinary except that I was on leave at the last minute. And at the last minute, there was a directive to postpone it,” Bernama reported Hamid as saying.
Sharing his views, Arshad said that if it is true Hamzah had interfered in the IGP’s order, then it can be clearly said that the minister had overstepped his boundaries.
Support Hamid for his no-nonsense approach
He also said that as the IGP, Hamid has prerogatives in the command and control of the police force and all the officers under his purview, which includes disciplining and transfer of his officers.
“Section 4 (1) of the Police Act empowers the IGP in ‘the control and direction of the Force and all other persons appointed or engaged for police duties, and who shall have all the powers conferred on a commissioner or a chief police officer’.
“So, the law is clear on the IGP’s authority. The Police Force Commission, chaired by the Home Minister, has jurisdiction over disciplinary and transfer matters only if there is no other law that covers this matter.
“But the Police Act gives that power to the IGP. As such, Patriot feels no politician, including the Home Minister, should interfere in the IGP’s authority to discipline and transfer his men,” Arshad stressed.
Heaping laurels on Hamid, Arshad said that the former’s hardline stance against crime syndicate and corrupt officers should be supported by all quarters, including powers that be.
“Hamid is working hard to clean the police force’s image. He has the gall to publicly confront the rot that has been happening in the force for some years.
“The people back his action. All Cabinet members, including the Home Minister, must support him too,” he stated. – April 11, 2021.
