PETALING JAYA: The public dispute between the home minister and the inspector-general of police has prompted a former MP to remark that a breakdown in authority is apparent.
Tawfik Ismail, who was Sungai Benut MP from 1986 to 1990, said home minister Hamzah Zainudin was showing he had little respect for outgoing top cop Abdul Hamid Bador or little confidence in his ability to run the force and in his commitment to reforming it.
He spoke to FMT of the division of roles between the two in the law and order system. “The police have the responsibility to enforce while the minister has to reply to the public if anything untoward happens.”
He also said the dispute showed there was a personality clash between the two.
Hamzah had confirmed that it was he who was speaking about a reshuffle of the police force in an audio recording that has been posted on several blogs. He is heard talking about giving a person from Perak a promotion and saying someone should no longer decide on the appointment of state police chiefs but should be allowed to only nominate five persons.
Hamid responded yesterday by saying Hamzah’s interference was “not good” for the country.
He told a press conference: “This must be avoided. A minister cannot interfere with the management of daily tasks.”
Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali said Hamzah seemed to be sidelining Hamid.
“It is surprising that the home minister is brushing off the leaked audio as unimportant when the contents of the recording seem to indicate that the top cop would be chosen not based on merit but on whom he knows,” he told FMT.
He said the proposal to promote a man from Perak, Hamzah’s home state, raised a question mark on the integrity of the police force.
“From the audio recording, Hamzah seems not to care about issues relating to integrity and merit of a person when appointing him or her,” he added.
Rafique said Hamid had been pushing for reforms and had also spoken up against cartels at all levels in the police force.
“It shows there are huge concerns in the police force,” he said, adding that the non-renewal of Hamid’s contract in a state of emergency raised some questions.
Another lawyer, Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla, acknowledged Hamzah’s position as chairman of the Police Force Commission (SPP), but he said the decision on transfers must be made by the commission as a whole, not just the chairman.
“The tradition has been that the IGP will recommend the names for the SPP to consider,” he told FMT.
“Why should Hamzah talk about nominating a Perakian when the decision should be made by the SPP?” - FMT
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