Musa Hassan: A Case of “Sour Grapes”

Outgoing inspector-general of police (IGP) Musa Hassan has been accused of being ungrateful over claims of alleged ‘third party interference’ in the police force.

“Musa Hassan’s (right) sudden attack on his former masters, the Home Ministry and politicians, for meddling in police affairs is most unbecoming as a senior civil servant – which is a very serious issue,” said Robert Phang, a community leader.

In a statement today, Phang, who also sits on the corruption consultative and advisory panel of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said, “His current tirade smacks of the proverbial sour grapes. Just because his tenure has not been extended, he has now suddenly found the guts to speak up for the force and champion independence.

“Has he forgotten that his tenure as top cop was extended three times by former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and (Home Minister) Hishammuddin Hussein?” Phang asked.

If the purported “interference” did exist, Phang demanded to know why Musa did not act on it as he is still in power.”Perhaps it is reflective of Musa’s ineffectiveness and irresponsibility when serving as IGP, the country’s seniormost police officer.

As the ‘top cop’, the public look to Musa to maintain his integrity, and not reporting his claims makes him a ‘yes man’, lambasted Phang (left).

“At the end of all this talk, Musa should look himself in the mirror and ask whether he had contributed to the enhancement of the police force,” he said, adding that the crime rate in the country is still in a worrying state.

Responding to Musa’s lament that the force also lacked funds, Phang argued that the government had allocated RM8 billion of the budget for the police force.

“Musa cannot whine of lack of financial resources for the force… suddenly, Musa is hurling all sorts of accusations at the government and his former political masters. Don’t tell me that he is Mr Perfect and thus the government should not interfere?” he said.

Undesirable issues

He also said the alleged ‘infiltration‘ of Israeli military intelligence into Bukit Aman and the force’s alleged links with the underworld were undesirable issues that cropped up during Musa’s tenure.

“It is on record that the Home Ministry by tradition and also by design, aims to ensure all departments within the ministry will conduct their business or duties in accordance with its directives and SOP (standard operating procedures).

“The police force happens to be the biggest department under the ministry, which naturally is under very close supervision by the ministry in all respects. In short, the ministry’s aim is to ensure there is no abuse of powers affecting the rakyat and the serving police officers, and more so to provide checks and balances for the force. It is therefore very unfair to regard this as interference,” defended Phang.

“He should stop trying to portray himself as a police saint and be grateful that he was given the opportunity to serve the country,” he added. Phang also rubbished the IGP’s claim that the latter was not aware of his retirement. “He is a seasoned and trained police officer”, it is ridiculous to state that he was in the dark, said Phang.

Cozy relationship

Meanwhile, DAP parliamentarian Charles Santiago described Musa’s allegations as “bitterness” that has stemmed out of a “cozy relationship”.

In a statement he attributed Musa’s “snide and ambiguous remarks” of a third party interference as coming “from a man who is on the verge of losing his powers after the Hari Raya weekend.” The Klang MP added Musa’s attacks on government ministries and on Hishammuddin does not reflect his integrity or honesty.

“If Musa is serious about cleaning-up the police force he should be forthright and make a complaint to the MACC especially if it involves corruption and framing people as part of political power play.

“Taking pot shots at his bosom buddies-turned enemies before retirement shows that Musa has no real concern for the police force or the nation,” said Santiago (left).

He reiterated that Musa’s track record was “best caricatured” by the use of excessive force in dispersing demonstrations and candlelight vigils as well as the increase in deaths in custody.

“In short Musa has illustrated that the force has no hesitation in going to the mat for the ruling government. So maybe Musa could try and do the right thing before he retires by giving detailed information of interference by those from the higher-ups and lodge an official complaint to allow for police investigations,” he suggested.

“For now, personalised attacks from Musa have only served to raise a few eyebrows and take a further whack on his dodgy reputation.”

courtesy of Din Merican