Outgoing IGP's Allegation Is Damning

A Kadir Jasin

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THE ALLEGATION by the outgoing Inspector General of Police, Musa Hassan, of “outside” meddling in the affairs of the Royal Malaysian Police is an interesting one.

I am putting the term outside in inverted commas and describing it as “interesting” because outside may not be outside at all, but actually inside or internal.

That’s because Musa had named the Home Ministry as one of the “meddlers”.

The Malaysian Insider news portal had quoted him as saying: “All kinds of people interfere(d). People from the ministry itself, outsiders, people with vested interests like those who want to do things that are not right — they will try to interfere,” he said, pointing out that it was not a new problem.

“The ministry I mentioned is the Home Ministry, of course. Other ministries cannot give me orders.”

He, however, he refused to comment if Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, with whom he is rumoured to have a strained relationship, was among the meddlers.

If Home Ministry and Hishammuddin were among the meddlers, then it is not outside, but inside. The Home Ministry and the Minister have every right to be involved in the affairs of the PDRM as they are responsible for force.

But meddling is another matter altogether. It means getting actively involved in the work of the police, which can mean getting in the way of the work of the force. And Musa was being pretty specific about what he meant by meddling, when he said the meddlers included who wanted do things that were not right.

During my time, all cadet reporters started on the police beat. In addition we covered the fire brigade and the hospitals, or to be specific the mortuary. We attended two police press conferences twice a day – in the morning and evening – at the Jalan Bandar Police Station.

So you can say that I was introduced to the work of the police early in my career and over rime developed an affinity with the force. Then in 2004 I sat in the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police.

It was then that I got to know Musa at close range. He appeared before the Commission regularly. He is a decent police officer. He took his job seriously. His flaws are his demeanours. He’s not an apple polisher nor is he a sweet talker. Maybe that got him on the nerve of some politicians who love to be treated like aristocrats and country squires.

Bear in mind, we do not lack such characters who either come from aristocratic background or think they are one because apple polishers and double talkers keep whispering into their eyes how great and powerful they are.

These apple polishers who bear such titles as special officers, advisers, think tanks and aides are the modern day reincarnation of Kitul and Raja Mandaliar who sold the Malacca Empire to the Portuguese in 1511.

Describing them as third parties, Musa alluded to the fact that they gave orders to police officers without the knowledge of their supervisors and the leadership of the force. On occasions, said Musa, their interference amounted to stopping the officer from carrying out their duties.

This is a very serious allegation and the minister must clear his name. To my recollection, there has never been much a strong allegation by an outgoing IGP before. As the Malay saying goes, “kalau tidak ada-ada, masakan tempua bersarang rendah”.

What is quoted by the Malaysian Insider was the repeat of what Musa had told the Mingguan Malaysia newspaper in an interview last March. Could his outspokenness been the last nail in his coffin?

It could. As today’s New Straits Times front-page quotation suggests. It quoted Musa as saying: “No one told me earlier about the announcement. I was informed just like others at the press conference.”

He was referring to the press conference last week by Hishammuddin during which his retirement was announced. He and his successor, Deputy IGP Ismail Omar, were at the press conference.

Well, if that was indeed the case, I am not at all surprised. To some people in power these days, common courtesy means nothing. It is raw power that counts. The government’s slogan of “budi bahasa amalan kita” is for the minions and the yokels. The aristocrats and the self-proclaimed “juara” are above these and other slogans.

Incidentally, I saw a banner on the Federal Highway which reads “Bar1san Nas1onal mengucapkan salam Aidil Fitri, maaf zahir dan batin”. Bar 1 san Nas 1 onal? What is that?

On my part, I wish fellow Muslims “Eid Mubarak”.

Back to the soon-to-be-gone IGP, if indeed there had been politicians and other individuals who issued orders directly to his subordinates (in contravention of section 4 of the Police Act 1957), he should make a police report against them. This is a very, very serious allegation.

I thank Musa for his services and wish him well in retirement. Let us hope and pray that Ismail, unassuming as he is, will turn out to be a forceful IGP that, like Musa, will not tolerate the corruptors whoever they maybe.