Ex-top cop questions Musa Hassan’s credibility

Ramli Yusuff, the former CCID director embroiled in the copgate affair, cites three instances in which he says Musa Hassan was dishonest.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ex Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan is not a credible person and this is proven throughout his time in the police force, said his former colleague Ramli Yusuff.

In the last few weeks, Musa has attracted attention for accusing Cabinet ministers and politicians of interfering with police investigations and arrests, naming home minister Hishammuddin Hussein in particular.

But his motives for ‘coming out’ have come into question due to the timing of it all; while he served as IGP for four years, no word was mentioned to the public of the allegedly meddling ministers.

Instead, the startling announcement was made on the eve of the Umno General Assembly’s opening, leading the home minister to maintain that it was just an attempt to sidetrack the public from issues discussed during the gathering.

To add further fuel to the fire, retired Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) Ramli, who is perhaps most known for his investigative role in the ‘Copgate’ affair, has cast aspersions on Musa’s character by dredging up old issues implicating the ex IGP.

“Musa served under me for almost six years. I was partly responsible for his promotion in 1995 from the post of junior superintendent to become my assistant, and in the end, he fixed me up,” said Ramli.

“So do you think his character is credible? I liken him to ‘melepaskan anjing tersepit’,” he said, referring to a Malay idiom which means helping someone who is ungrateful.

Ramli was alluding to the five charges he faced in 2007 and 2009 in which he was eventually acquitted for – charges which he claimed were masterminded by Musa along with Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail and former Anti-Corruption Agency director of prosecution Nordin Hassan in an attempt to discredit him.

The charges include allegedly failing to declare his assets, for violating laws prohibiting civil servants from being involved in private business, and for abusing power after allegedly using a Royal Malaysian Police Cessna Caravan aircraft to fly him to see plots of land in Ulu Tungku and Lahad Datu.

Ramli claimed he was framed due to his role in the Copgate affair, in which he and his team took action against an underworld figure who allegedly had Musa’s backing – only for that figure to be released four months later.

Musa was subsequently investigated and cleared by Abdul Gani and the ACA, and his contract renewed until his retirement in 2010, according to Malaysiakini.

Ramli told FMT today that he had originally pushed for Musa’s promotion from junior superintendent to his assistant circa 1995 because the latter was supposed to be laterally transferred to Perlis.

“Musa came crying to me, telling me about his predicament…children schooling, very unhappy. So I recommended him [for the promotion] because he served under me in 1987 as one of my officers in the police college in Kuala Kubu Baru.

“So at that time, he was a good guy, and I trusted him,” said Ramli, adding that he had a tough time convincing the former director of the CID to promote Musa on account of his lack of academic credentials.

Even judge said Musa is unreliable

Zeroing in on the abuse of power trial which ended in 2009, Ramli said the session court judge’s comments on Musa – who was a witness for the prosecution -  further reflected the then IGP’s dubious character.

“During my trial in Sabah, a sessions court judge in her judgement commented that Musa is an ‘incredible’ witness because he contradicted the evidence of his own officers,” said Ramli.

“And the judge believed the evidence of Musa’s junior offences rather than him. And he was then still serving as IGP. Malu (shameful),” added Ramli.

The abuse of power trial involving the alleged use of a police aircraft for his own personal interest, in which his lawyer Rosli Dahlan defended him.

According to Rosli, Judge Supang Lian told the court at the closing of the 59-day hearing that Musa’s evidence was unreliable and to be disregarded.

Rosli told FMT she repeated the word “discredit” twice in her assessment of Musa’sevidence, who, as the 75th witness, was allegedly called last in order to refute testimonies of those who came before him.

Among the witnesses were Ramli’s pilots, whom Rosli said had flatly denied having flown Ramli to Ulu Tungku and Lahad Datu, in which his real estate company Kinsajaya Sdn Bhd had an interest.

Supang Lian ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case and Ramli deserved to be acquitted and discharged.

A year later, the High Court dismissed an appeal by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) against the Session Court’s decision to acquit Ramli.

‘Musa lied about his qualificiation’

Another reason why Musa’s words should be taken with a pinch of salt was because he had  lied about his education qualification during a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) in 1999, Ramli alleged.

“He’s not credible because when he testified during a royal commission of inquiry, when they asked him about his qualifications, he said advanced diploma in law.

“In fact, he only has a certificate in law from a one year course he took in law. Certificate only. An advanced diploma is equal to a degree, you know.”

Ramli said that lawyer and PKR member R Sivarasa lodged a police report pertaining to the “false qualification” a year or two ago, but no investigation had been conducted.

The RCI in question was set up to probe the black-eye opposition leader Anwar received during lock-up, said Ramli.

The then IGP Rahim Noor had initially said the wound was self-inflicted, but after the RCI was convened, he admitted to having beaten Anwar.