Topic: Police Cartel
Coverage by: Free Malaysia Today
Related news: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/05/19/act-quickly-on-cartels-and-political-interference-new-igp-told/
PETALING JAYA: Klang MP Charles Santiago has urged new Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah to treat allegations of rogue behaviour in the force and political interference in its affairs as matters requiring his immediate attention.
Joining him in the call are spokesmen for the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).
Speaking to FMT, they referred to claims made by Acryl Sani’s predecessor, Abdul Hamid Bador, of the existence of a cartel of young officers conspiring to dominate the force and of home minister Hamzah Zainudin’s meddling in police affairs.
Santiago, a member of DAP, said Acryl Sani must ensure the integrity of the probe into the alleged cartel and see it to its conclusion.
“This is a serious accusation that has to be investigated. Otherwise, people will say the police are corrupt,” he added.
He also said he hoped Acryl Sani would assert his independence and “not just take instructions from the home minister”.
Before he retired, Hamid had said Hamzah wanted to use the Special Branch for political purposes.
On April 30, Hamzah confirmed that it was his voice heard in an audio recording asking that a police officer currently serving in Perak be promoted within the force.
C4 director Cynthia Gabriel urged Acryl Sani to investigate Hamzah on suspicion of “tampering with police appointments”.
She also said the new IGP should foster a culture of accountability to address the trust deficit the police were facing.
“A full-scale revamp is needed. He must act on this quickly,” she said.
Cynthia added that officers suspected of protecting wrongdoers must be investigated immediately.
Hamid alleged last month that the Integrity and Standard Compliance Department was guilty of cover-ups. He said officers had allowed those who “passed favours to investigators” to be let off scot-free.
Cynthia also called for the immediate establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
Akhbar Satar, president of ACFE’s Malaysian chapter, said Acryl Sani, in order to gain public trust, must maintain the “legacy left by Hamid” by cleaning the force of corrupt practices.
He added that the force should consider raising the entry qualification of police officers.
“Individuals with a diploma or degree in criminal justice or law enforcement administration should be sought to create a pool of professional police officers,” he said.
Santiago also referred to social media outrage over last month’s death of A Ganapathy while he was in police custody.
“There has to be some form of open inquiry,” he said. “The police have not said much on the death.”
