KUALA LUMPUR – Just shy of 16 months ago, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador was busy reassuring the nation amid political unrest – days before the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.
Fast forward to April 30 this year, he was laying his cards on the table in his last press conference as Malaysia’s top cop, before his contract ends tomorrow and his deputy, Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, takes over on Tuesday.
Hamid spared no words hitting out against Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, criticising political interference in the appointments and reshuffling of the force’s top brass and the corrupt practice that follows political “frogs”, among others.
“There’s no harmony between me and the minister because we have different ways of thinking,” said the IGP on Friday.
It is clear that the two did not warm up to each other after Perikatan Nasional took over Putrajaya in late February last year. Hamid was appointed IGP by PH’s prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, on May 4, 2019 in a two-year contract. Then home minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said Hamid was chosen due to his experience in the force.
Hamid is no stranger to speaking his mind. In 2015, he was reported as saying that he believed his outspokenness over several issues, including the probe into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), led to his transfer out of the police force.
“The rumour of my transfer had been going on for four months; that there were ‘invisible powers’ who did not want me to be in the Special Branch. It could be because I had asked for the investigation into 1MDB to be carried out transparently,” he had said.
Hamid was pulled out of the Special Branch to a new security division in the Prime Minister’s Department in August 2015. He refused to clock in at the Prime Minister’s Department, citing a cover-up into the 1MDB investigation as the reason.
With Acryl Sani soon taking over the reins, Hamid had expressed confidence his successor will do well in continuing the fight against police corruption.
Hamzah’s audio controversy
On April 10, Hamid was to meet Hamzah over the sudden postponement of the transfer of senior police officials, with the Larut MP saying two days later he did not have a hand in the matter.
Hamzah said the transfer of senior personnel was a decision by the Police Force Commission (SPP), one he chairs as home minister.
“What is most important is that the decision should be seen as an SPP decision. It is true that I am the minister, but I am also the chairman of SPP.
“Hence, it is the decision of the majority, and I always follow the decision of the majority. Instead of me making my own decisions, I think it is good for all parties to understand that the SPP is the highest commission because its members are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”
The remarks came amid backlash after an audio clip with a voice resembling Hamzah was heard discussing the selection of police directors and state police chiefs. In the audio recording, Hamzah allegedly put forward the notion of promoting “orang kita” and “budak kita”.
During the announcement of Acryl Sani’s promotion on Friday, Hamzah admitted in a press conference that it was indeed his voice in the leaked clip but he was also of the view that what he said was not wrong.
“That is my voice. I didn’t do anything illegal. What did I do wrong? The wrongdoing was recording my conversation with someone. That is illegal. What I did was not wrong.”
Hamzah said it was his duty under the federal constitution and as SPP chairman to oversee the appointment of high-ranking officers, including the IGP.
“What I did was not wrong. I asked the IGP to submit a few names to Tuanku (Yang di-Pertuan Agong). For the Royal Malaysia Police. Who is the person who recorded the conversation? That’s the question.”
Hamid, however, believes otherwise. In a later press conference that same day, Hamid took the minister to task, saying Hamzah’s interference was “not good for the country”, makes it difficult for the IGP to organise police matters and gives rise to factions within the force.
Hamid had also recommended that politicians refrain from chairing the SPP as they bring elements of politics into it.
“A minister cannot interfere with the management of daily tasks. I have already raised this with him (Hamzah). I already raised it with the chief secretary to the government. We have our bosses, we raised it to them but he still wants the power (to interfere). This is not good for the country. I want to clarify that the (home minister’s) responsibility as chairman of the SPP has a limit.”
Exposing PDRM’s dirty laundry
In the months leading up to the end of his contract, Hamid propounded the existence of corruption in the force. On March 18, he had said there was a cartel in the force that includes younger officers conspiring to remove him.
“There are efforts by the cartel to disgrace and bring me down. I want to advise them to stop these disgusting acts. The police force isn’t ours for the taking, it’s not our playground,”
This may not have come as a surprise to many, given Malaysia ranks 35th on Index Mundi’s Police Corruption Index, where Denmark ranked 100th as the country with the least perception of corruption among its police force.
Although the “cartel” could be deemed a threat to national security, Hamid seemed reluctant to leave the matter in the hands of a royal commission of inquiry or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In fact, on March 25, he had told the press that there was no need for the MACC to interfere, as Bukit Aman’s Integrity and Compliance Standards Department could handle the matter internally.
MACC chief Datuk Seri Azam Baki also agreed to leave this to the force to address internally.
Hamid also revealed that he had brought the matter to Hamzah’s attention. “I will convey this matter to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin. There is no need (for a report), but it is up to the minister whether the matter is to be raised to the SPP or not," he had said on March 23.
Less than a week ago, Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay on April 27 announced the arrests of 10 policemen and two MACC officers over alleged links to Geng Nicky.
While this has no connection to Hamid’s internal “cartel”, it points to corrupt members of the force. Ayob had strongly refused to reveal the names of those arrested as they have yet to be charged, adding that the suspects had been remanded for 28 days under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).
“From April 21 to 26, Johor CCID personnel conducted operations in Selangor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur. The 12 arrested are aged between 36 and 49.”
Among those nabbed are an inspector and superintendent based in the Bukit Aman police headquarters here. A deputy superintendent and assistant superintendent from the Special Branch and two inspectors from the Selangor police contingent were also detained.
A deputy superintendent was arrested in Melaka, while two assistant superintendents from the Kuala Lumpur contingent were detained. An inspector from a police training centre was nabbed in Negri Sembilan, while two MACC personnel were detained in Putrajaya.
A Hamid throwback
Hamid’s tenure with the police was a colourful one, with him starting out as a sub-inspector in 1979 before being placed in the Special Branch at Bukit Aman the following year until 1996.
In 1999, Hamid served as deputy Gombak OCPD and was later Kelantan’s Special Branch chief in 2005 until 2006, where he held the same position in Sabah.
In 2009, he was appointed national deputy director of the Special Branch, before a controversial transfer to the Prime Minister’s Department in 2015.
When it was speculated that Hamid would issue a statement concerning Dr Mahathir’s alleged involvement in doctoring documents related to 1MDB, he had said: “Even if I am cut in 12 pieces, I will never defame the servant of Allah who has contributed so much to the country.”
Only in 2018 did Hamid return as Special Branch director after Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya after winning the general election on May 9. A year later, he was appointed acting deputy IGP before a promotion to the top post in May.
Since being appointed IGP, Hamid has consistently told his troops to stay away from corruption and called for higher police salaries to fight graft.
Despite his reputation as a vocal member of the police force, Hamid urged for calm during the political turmoil that ended in the Sheraton Move, with Perikatan Nasional taking over the government. – The Vibes, May 2, 2021
