The Malaysian Police Force and the ACA (Anti Corruption Agency): Both Have Tons of Garbage in Their Own Backyards

Read here full article by Tun Mohamed Hanif Omar

Quote:

"... 40% of the senior (Police) Officers could be arrested without further investigations – strictly on the basis of their lifestyles. One state police chief had a net worth of RM18 million.

It was the daily talk and the butt of gibes on the golf courses that embarrassed retired police officers no end...The rot within the (Police Force) was so deep-seated.

Whom can we believe when ONE group (of Police Officers) is headed by the IGP and the OTHER by a Police Director backed by the Deputy Minister of Internal Security? They are at opposite poles.

Both the IGP (Musa Hassan) and the Deputy Minister of Internal Security (Johari Baharum) have allegations of corruption thrown at them....(and) the Attorney-General (AG) absolved both of them.

... (the)abject failure of the (ACA) to act hard against the highly corrupt at the very top levels all these years has allowed this pervasive corruption culture to thrive and grow within the public sector.

The AG (Attorney-General) himself has lost his credibility and for his “defeats” in recent high profile cases as well as for some HIGH PROFILE cases NOT seeing the light of day after so long in his hands. ..."
- Tun Mohamed Hanif Omar

Tun Mohamed Hanif Omar
(former IGP from 1974-1994)
Photo courtesy of Screenshots

Excerpts: Read here for more on article by Tun Mohamed Hanif Omar

"..... The Police Force and the Anti-Corruption Agency are sadly disappointing in their inability to even clean up their own backyards.

The Malaysian Police Force

(The Police Force) is so clearly divided into at least two groups at the top and, consequently, affects the officers below.

One group carries out arrests of alleged crime kingpins and

the other, (with) the ACA, have allegedly interrogated the arresting officers in the belief that the first group is eliminating the informants of the other group.

Whom can we believe when:

(a) one group is headed by the IGP (Musa Hassan) and

(b) the other by a Police Director backed by the Deputy Minister of Internal Security (Johari Baharum) ?

They are at opposite poles.

Both the IGP and the Deputy Minister of Internal Security have allegations of corruption thrown at them.

Both have been investigated by the ACA. The content of the reports to the AG (Attorney General) we do not know. What we know is that the AG has absolved both of them.

So, between the two (the IGP and the Deputy Minister for Internal Security) , whom are we to believe?

The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)

The ACA is another vital institution. It is its abject failure to act hard against the highly corrupt at the very top levels all these years that has allowed this pervasive corruption culture to thrive and grow within the public sector.

Let me say it here: you will not stamp out corruption by only giving talks or by tackling only the lower rankers.

The lower rankers are emboldened by the top-level corruption that could get away.

Can the new ACA chief (Ahmad Siad bin Hamdan) , drawn from within the ACA ranks itself for the first time, show a greater and singular dedication to his bounden duty? We shall see and I wish him strength and success.

But so far he has NOT shown the kind of mettle that we must expect from people in his new post. He must be proactive and independent!

The Attorney-General(AG)

The AG himself has lost his credibility for this recalcitrance and for his “defeats” in recent high profile cases as well as for some high profile cases not seeing the light of day after so long in his hands.

This is disastrous because his Chambers is the second other vital institution in the criminal justice system.



The 2005 Royal Commission

The Royal Commission was convened in 2004 to enquire why our Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) had gone so far down the road of self-destruct and to make recommendations as to how to enhance again its operations and management.

I briefed the Royal Commission that police corruption was so extensive that a very senior ACA officer had confided in me and another top retired police officer that 40% of the senior officers could be arrested without further investigations – strictly on the basis of their lifestyles. One state police chief had a net worth of RM18mil. My friend and I had watched the force getting deeper and deeper into the morass of corruption.

It was the daily talk and the butt of gibes on the golf courses that embarrassed retired police officers no end; yet even we were stunned by this revelation and its implication.

I could not help telling the ACA officer that he really had his work cut out for him and that his fight against corruption was the most important fight facing the country but I hoped that he could effectively stamp out this corruption without destroying our PDRM which had done such yeomen service to the nation.

The Royal Commission Report was released in April 2005. Numerous recommendations were made.

It was strongly felt that the rot within the PDRM was so deep-seated.

The Royal Commission Report was made public two-and-a quarter years ago, yet PDRM has still not burnished its image.

It is still mired in controversy. Need I say why?

Independent Police Commission Against Malpractices and Corruption (IPCMC)

An independent, extrinsic monitoring authority was needed to help the IGP and the Police Force Commission steer back the force to the straight and narrow.

The setting up of the Independent Police Commission Against Malpractices and Corruption (IPCMC) was felt (by the 2005 Royal Commission) to be cardinal to the whole effort.

That is why the IPCMC is so important – so that we have an instrument to get to the truth.

By not letting the IPCMC see the light of day after such a long study by the AG speaks volumes of the AG’s understanding of the seriousness of the problem and its effect on the criminal justice system.

RELATED ARTICLE:

Reality Check for the AG and IGP

by

A. Kadir Jasin.

Read here for more on Kadir Jasin's Blog

Excerpts: Read here for more

"Having served as a member of the Royal Commission To Enhance The Operation And Management Of The Royal Malaysian Police in 2004-2005, I would like very much to give the benefit of the doubt to the Inspector-General of Police and, by extension, to the Attorney General whenever they come under fire.

I don’t think I can anymore extend that courtesy.

The Commission heard stories of police brutality, high-handedness and disrespect for human rights which eventually led to many sensational cases, including murder, being thrown out by angry judges and the government sued by mistreated parties.

Realising this, the Commission devoted a considerable portion of its deliberation and report to making specific recommendations on enhancing investigation and promoting closer collaboration between the police and the AG’s Chamber when investigating serious criminal cases.

Judging from the ongoing Altantuya murder trial and the acquittal and discharge of the two accused persons by the Kuantan High Court on Aug. 6, the “sloppiness” continues despite claims to the contrary.

I find the IGP’s Aug. 9 statement “blaming” officers for not acting against their errant subordinates as one of the causes for indiscipline as UNACCEPTABLE.

I must say that the blaming game has been going on for far too long in the government service, including the police.

Somebody must own up and take responsibility. If they point fingers too often, the time will come when they end up poking their own eyes.

The buck must stop somewhere – be it at the desk of the OCPD, the CPO, the IGP, the AG, the Minister and finally the Prime Minister.

The Government cannot justify its pledge of transparency and accountability, and fulfills it promise of improved delivery system if it allows it operatives to keep doing “the Samy Vellu” by blaming their shortcomings and faults on God, nature and other people.

In the case of the Altantuya murder trial, not only the fate of the three high-profiled accused is at stake.

More importantly the reputation of the police, the AG’s Chamber and the Judiciary is also at stake. ..."
-A. Kadir Jasin