Ex-Special Branch deputy chief says will accept punishment for speaking truth

Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador says he will accept his transfer out of Special Branch for speaking the truth. – The Malaysian Insider filepic, August 28, 2015.

Former Special Branch deputy director Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador said he expected to be issued a show-cause letter for speaking to the media about his abrupt transfer out of the police's intelligence unit and about 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

“I will accept it, if that is the punishment for the offence of speaking the truth,” Hamid told The Malaysian Insider today.

He said he would face the "challenges" ahead with perseverance.

The ex-intelligence number two added that he has yet to receive the letter, following Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar's statement last night that one would be issued to him.

Khalid said Hamid would be asked to explain why he had spoken to the media about his recent transfer to a new transnational crime division in the Prime Minister's Department.

Hamid had also told the press about meeting Khalid over the news of his transfer.

He is to be the deputy director of a new division which would report directly to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Last week, Hamid told the press the post was non-existent and that even the Public Service Department was "still figuring it out".

He said he concluded that the transfer was an attempt to put him in "cold storage".

“I received a transfer order on August 17, to take on a post as deputy director of the transnational crime division.

“It got me thinking, why they needed this unit when we already have a counterterrorism unit and other reliable departments.”

Hamid had said the Special Branch had been advising Putrajaya on sentiments towards Najib and 1MDB since two years ago, and had urged the government to provide clear answers on the Finance Ministry-owned investment firm's alleged scandals.

Putrajaya, however, had said that it knew how to handle the matter, Hamid said.

He said Khalid had summoned him for a meeting early this week as a result of his remarks to the media.

Hamid's transfer followed that of two Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) directors who were transferred to the Prime Minister's Department after speaking out against the arrests and questioning of other anti-graft officers for allegedly leaking information on 1MDB.

The two were reinstated shortly after public outcry.

Hamid's transfer came after Special Branch director Datuk Seri Akhil Bulat's retirement on August 17 at the age of 62.

Akhil's post was taken over by Datuk Seri Mohamad Fuzi Haron, who was Bukit Aman's Management Department director.

- TMI