Just days before stepping down as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Abdul Hamid Bador appears to have vented his frustrations against ministers who he said called for roadblocks under the movement control order (MCO) to be reduced.
He said many Covid-19 clusters have appeared and cases have increased after the police loosened the roadblocks.
He remarked that there are many "ministers who are not smart".
“Yesterday I scolded a minister who criticised the police about roadblocks. There are so many ministers who are not smart.
“Among the thousands of people (manning the roadblocks), I can’t choose. So I filter one-by-one at roadblocks, that’s why there had been a delay, (traffic) jams.
“(Politicians) told me to loosen roadblocks and asked why I tightened them. If they are loosened again, the (Covid-19) clusters would increase,” he told a press conference at Bukit Aman today.
The roadblocks were implemented since the MCO in March last year to restrict interstate travel and sometimes interdistrict travel.
On Wednesday (April 28), Hamid lamented that the police not only face public criticism over the roadblocks but also from government officers and ministers.
He said people should understand that the roadblocks were implemented on the National Security Council’s orders to contain the spread of Covid-19.
On another matter, Hamid defended his subordinates in Kelantan who slapped a RM50,000 compound against a burger stall operator who operated beyond the permissible business hours under the MCO.
He said RM50,000 is the correct amount for businesses compared to RM10,000 for individuals.
He expressed regret that some political leaders have taken advantage of the issue by portraying the police as insensitive.
“I have said his offence is at a stall, so the compound is RM50,000 for stubborn business premises. For individuals it’s RM10,000.
“It’s not that the police are insensitive for imposing the RM50,000 compound on him, the police are sensitive. He can appeal. It’s not as though we write a RM50,000 compound and he has to pay RM50,000 right away,” Hamid said.
On April 26, a burger seller doing business in front of his house at Kampung Rambutan Rendang, Kota Bharu, expressed shocked when slapped with a RM50,000 compound for supposedly operating beyond permissible business hours.
Wan Mohd Faisal Wan Kadir, 38, said the incident occurred at about 11.10pm when several police officers approached him while he was completing orders to be delivered to customers at a factory.
He said police then issued a RM50,000 compound for operating beyond the hours allowed under the MCO. - Mkini
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