Be careful in making statements, don't waste police time - IGP

Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador today urges the public to be careful before making any statements that can land them in trouble.

In saying this, the top cop said they would have to investigate every report when this happens when police should instead use the time to focus on other pressing matters concerning the country's security.

"I respect freedom of speech. This I guarantee. (But) I just want to ask all politicians, any individual in fact, that they must remember that there are legal boundaries in issuing statements especially when it hurts the feeling of others.

"When such a public statement is made and it insults other parties, then they would lodge a police report, which becomes the responsibility of my team to look into the content of the reports and get feedback from the Attorney-General's Chambers.

"If there is an offensive element in the statement or action, then we will launch an investigation.

"I do not want to waste our time (on things like this), because police are busy in facing threats to the country like the flooding of undocumented migrants and drug trafficking," he told reporters when met during an event in Putrajaya today.

Abdul Hamid's remarks came as a response to journalists' questions over recent cases involving Al-Jazeera's report on Malaysia's handling of migrants during Covid-19 and a claim by Parlimen Digital’s organiser that its participants were harassed by the police.

"I see these nitty-gritty issues are just wasting our time," he added.

On the investigation into Al-Jazeera, Abdul Hamid said they expect to call in those involved for statement recording soon.

Yesterday, it was reported that police has launched an investigation into the international news agency's documentary report, which allegedly attempted to tarnish the country's image.

Al Jazeera had released a 25-minute 50-second documentary titled “Locked Up in Malaysia's Lockdown” that denounced the treatment of undocumented migrants when Malaysia took steps to tackle Covid-19.

Following this, the Immigration Department had lodged a police report at the Precinct 7 Police Station in Putrajaya.

The report had also attracted criticism from Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who claimed that Al-Jazeera was being unethical in producing what he described as a deceptive documentary over the government's handling of the undocumented migrant population during the Covid-19 outbreak.

It's worth noting that it was stated in Al Jazeera’s report that they had reached out to Ismail himself, Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin and their deputies for comments, but these requests were not entertained. - Mkini