‘Black knight’ Musa vs ‘White knight’ Ramli

The former IGP took a swipe at his critics for portraying him as the bad cop out to destroy the PDRM.

PETALING JAYA: Former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan today lashed out at his critics, especially his former colleagues Ramli Yusuff and Mat Zain Ibrahim, suggesting that they have strong backing from powerful figures.

“I think this Ramli, he has strong influence with IGP [Ismail Omar] and the police,” he told a press conference here.

“From the outside, it seems like he’s the white knight, saviour of PDRM [Royal Malaysian Police]… while I’m the black knight who is destroying PDRM… the picture has been painted as such,” he said when asked about Ramli’s unending crusade against him.

Musa, the patron of the new anti-crime NGO MyWatch, said that he suspects that Ramli has the backing of certain powerful figures that he did not name.

“I just want to know who is behind him… who has given him this platform to attack me,” he said.

Musa maintained that he had no links with underworld figures, a claim that Ramli, retired Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) director, has repeated, and instead asked the latter himself to answer to the public.

“He should answer to the public… how he owns so much riches and wealth when he was still in service. Even I don’t have so much…”

Musa said despite the courts clearing Ramli of failing to declare some RM27 million worth of assets, for him, it was still an unresolved question.

How could a police officer only holding the post of CCID director amass such money? he asked.

Asked if he was implying Ramli was linked to “undesirable individuals”, Musa said: “It is hard for me to answer. Because those who have wealth of that nature will have some links somewhere.”

He also denied former KL CID chief Mat Zain’s claim that he (Musa) had fabricated evidence, relating to three reports on the injuries Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim received while in police custody in 1998.

Mat Zain had said: “I state, yet again, that I am willing to declare under oath in any judicial proceeding or before any judge that there was indeed an agreement between [Attorney-General Abdul] Gani [Pattail] and Musa to use Dr Abdul Rahman [Yusof] to fabricate the three so-called special reports on the injuries Anwar received while in police custody in 1998.”

Musa said he has no knowledge about any such reports, declaring that he has no power to order any doctor to do anything.

“He [Mat Zain] is the one who investigated the case. He should have the reports,” he said.

He said Mat Zain, along with Ramli, was trying to discredit him.

“They are plainly trying to stop me from speaking out. These people are back in operation. They have to say something. They know I can’t stand this kind of things, so this is a preemptive strike by them,” Musa said.

“Let me ask them now: who are the real kingpins? Why have there been no actions [taken]?”

Defamation suit

Musa also denied rumours that he is coming out now because his request to be made the Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei was turned down, saying that he had in fact rejected the offer.

“I was [in fact] offered the post [but] I refused. I am a policeman,” he said.

Meanwhile, MyWatch chairman R Sri Sanjeevan said that his NGO was giving former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission adviser Robert Phang three days to apologise and retract comments he made about the organisation.

“He has mentioned in his statement that MyWatch is bankrolled by underworld syndicates. I will give him a grace period of three days to apologise for his statement, or we will initiate a defmation suit against him.”

“He has no clue about MyWatch. If he is defaming us, he is indirectly defaming Musa,” said Sri Sanjeevan.

Meanwhile, MyWatch adviser S Gobi Krishnan denied that the NGO was politically linked.

“MyWatch is an NGO… neutral. I can be a party member, but MyWatch doesn’t take instructions from anyone, or report to anyone.”