KUALA LUMPUR – The reality of a viral photo involving Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador, who was apparently spotted selling vegetables at a public market, turned out to be rather different, as the ex-top cop denied such claims made by a Twitter user.
In a report by Oriental Daily yesterday, Hamid clarified that the image, which made its rounds on the social media platform, was an old photo taken by passers-by when he visited a friend at a market in Melaka.
The pensioner explained that he has never set up a stall to sell vegetables and debunked allegations by Twitter user Mohamad Yusof Yahya.
On Sunday night, Yusof uploaded the photo of Hamid, with a notebook and pen in hand, sitting behind a stall which offered a variety of fresh produce.
Bekas IGP niaga hasil kebun sayur d kaki lima pasar awam. Ada berani yg lain. Tak segan pun beliau, salute to u. pic.twitter.com/ebn6MUG3jz
— Mohamad Yusof Bin Yahya (@MohamadYusofBi6) June 5, 2022
Yusof hailed the 63-year-old former inspector-general of police (IGP)’s bravery, as the latter was not ashamed to sell vegetables at a market sidewalk.
“Would others be as brave? He is not ashamed at all. Salute to you,” Yusof, going by the handle @MohamadYusofBi6, said.
At press time, the post has garnered 5,315 likes and 1,761 retweets.
In a Sinar Harian interview on March 17 last year, the country’s former top cop, who hails from Rembau, Negri Sembilan, said he was looking forward to retirement and focusing on his farming hobby.
Following his first retirement in 2016 and prior to his return to the police force and subsequent appointment as IGP on May 4, 2019, Hamid ventured into farming and tended to vegetables at his birthplace, where he sold produce for a living.
In a separate interview with New Straits Times in 2019, he revealed his love for farming, saying he could not wait to get back to it once his two-year contract expired.
“After I retire in two years, I am going back to farming. I love it,” he was quoted as saying by the English daily. – The Vibes, June 7, 2022
