Food For Thought For The Home Minister

The recent statement by the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein that the Police Force is undergoing a transition that would rekindle a “new chapter” in the Force is not only perplexing but amusing (The Sun - 16 March 2010). Little does the Minister realized that this month, 25th of March 2010, the Royal Malaysia Police is 203 years of age. Ever since then, many police officers has come and go, including the IGPs, after having served the nation faithfully and devoted their lives in the defence of the country with unflinching support and dedication to both the Government and the ruling party. There is nothing sinister about police officers retiring once they reach their compulsory age of retirement except when their services are extended on a contractual basis.

Ever since those years the Royal Malaysia Police is one and the only Government agency that has contributed and sacrificed significantly in the defence of the country be it against the communist insurgence, Indonesian confrontation, terrorists, wars and needless to mention high profile crimes. Members of the Royal Police Force has given their selfless and dedicated devotion in the defence of the country both from within and without and in so doing has not only sacrificed their lives but also limbs, leaving behind wives who lost their husbands and children, their fathers. Now that the country has redeemed its peace and tranquillity, the sacrifices made by the Force are wilfully neglected and their esteems humiliated.

Of course the Home Minister can put all these sacrifices in the back seat, as whilst the Police were fiercely fighting the communist terrorists in defence of the country’s sovereignty, the Home Minister was either not born into this world yet or he was away too long from the country in London reading law (beside wine, women and song) to really appreciate those sacrifices. The Home Minister should emulate his late father’s role model (the late Tun Hussein Onn) who had himself fought the Japanese resistance group (Force 136) and operated from behind enemy lines that when he became Minister of Home Affairs then he was able to really appreciate the sacrifices made by members of the Police Force. Having himself gone through a military training, the late Tun Hussein Onn could empathize the hardship and challenges faced by a soldier. A police officer is a law enforcer by training, but a soldier by profession, and willing and ever ready to be called on duty be it during peace time or war as proven by its golden track record. It has lived up to its immortal motto of “Bersedia Berkhidmat” since time immemorial.

To say that the Home Minister can appreciate and understand the rigours and discipline of a uniform body in defence of the country and the ruling party, is an overstatement as he was born with a golden spoon to an aristocrat and noble family of Johor. If you are noble by birth, yet you should be nobler by great deeds. Only fools are unable to support that crushing load which we call gratitude. To say at this juncture that the Police Force needs a “new chapter” is an affront to those who had sacrificed their lives and limbs for the country and analogous to the English saying “Teaching your grandmother to suck eggs” and the Malay proverb “Madu dihisap sepah dibuang”. The sufferings that police veterans and their dependents endured all these years cannot be just forgotten or ignored overnight. Their sufferings will be translated into ballot papers in the coming general election that could spell a “New Chapter” for the BN Government. Lord Chesterfield in a letter to his son once wrote “never seem wiser, nor more learned, then the people you are with”.

There is no dispute that the Inspector General of Police is directly responsible to the Minister of Home Affairs for the control and direction of the Force. On his reappointment as the IGP on a contractual basis, the current IGP, Tan Sri Musa Hassan serves at the pleasure of the HRH Yang DiPertuan Agong and the Prime Minister. Hence only the Prime Minister using his prerogatives can terminate the IGP’s contract of service. For the Home Minister to pre-empt any move to terminate the service contract of Tan Sri Musa Hassan as IGP is not only an act of insubordination to the Prime Minister but also an insult to HRH the Yang DiPertuan Agong. The recent rumour that was rife that culminated in the China Press publishing the report on 15 March 2010 claiming that Tan Sri Musa had resigned, provided strong impetus to suggest that the Home Minister had unilaterally schemed to remove him from the post after the Home Minister failed to convince the Prime Minister to prematurely terminate Tan Sri Musa’s contract.

If not for the initiative by the Home Minister, the underground syndicates would not have boldly betted that Tan Sri Musa Hassan would resign. It was soon after the China Press’s report and the immediate clarification from the Home Minister, a majority of the bettors who were convinced that Tan Sri Musa Hassan would resign, lost their stakes overnight. That day millions of Ringgit changed hands amongst losers and winners.

Since Dato Seri Hishamuddin Hussein took office as Home Minister, he had been reportedly trying to usurp the authority and powers of the Inspector General of Police. Using the clout of his office he had directly communicated to field officers including Chief Police Officers of the States and OCPDs to have suspects or criminals detained by the police, especially UMNO supporters to be released without realising that he had overstepped his boundaries. His action has not only put senior police officers in a difficult position but at the same time undermining the officers’ loyalty to the IGP. For senior police officers who wanted to please the Home Minister, they would bend the law just to help him with the hope that the Minister will give them promotions. It is the ‘generalissimo’ attitude of the Home Minister that has created dissension and disloyalty amongst the ranks of the Police Force.

Section 4 (4) of the Police Act 1967 clearly specifies that all lawful acts to be done or ordered to be performed by all police officers and commanders are only subject to the orders and direction of the Inspector General of Police. Somehow it was reported that many of the Home Ministers requests were not met and this even culminated in the removal and transfer of the senior police officer specially attached to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Home Minister was apparently unhappy that all his “unofficial requests” could not be met by the police department. Instead the Home Minister had the officer replaced by one SAC Wan Najmuddin to be his adviser and “McGyver” to ‘fix’ police related cases. In effect Wan Najmuddin is the surrogate of the Home Minister in running the Police Force and the second IGP in command of the Police Force. All requests made to police officers on the ground were done in the name of the Home Minister’s office and direction. Coincidently Wan Najmuddin was the former ADC to HRH Yang DiPertuan Agong but was rightly sacked by the HRH for neglecting his duties and responsibilities. In fact whilst he was the ADC to HRH the King with the rank of ACP (which he personally lobbied to be one), he had used the Istana Negara to be given and promoted to the rank of SAC II despite just having been confirmed one year as ACP, when in fact the substantive rank for the ADC post is only an ACP which is of equivalent rank to all the other ADCs from the military, air force and navy-that of full Colonel.

It was reported that whilst in Singapore, instead of taking care of HRH’s daughter’s security and well being, Wan Najmuddin had the audacity to steal time to go the night club. Now you have this type of low morale police officer working as special adviser to the Home Minister. As a matter of fact the Home Minister should be investigated for corruption and abusing his position for interfering in police work similarly to what Anwar Ibrahim had previously been charged and convicted for corrupt practices and abuse of power.

It is rather uncanny and ironical that whilst the Home Minister has been openly demanding that the Police Force must fight and reduce crime, but behind his back he was actually perpetuating and inhibiting crime to be committed. Instead of interfering in the affairs of the Police Force, the Home Minister should be cleaning up his own house and backyard. The police had been working very hard to nab criminals who are involved in gangsterism and ahlongs by putting them under preventive detention - Prevention of Crime Ordinance (PCO) and to be detained at the Simpang Renggam detention centre. Recently the police had a big break by detaining four kingpins from one of the biggest ahlong syndicate in the country. This syndicate is said to have a turn-over of about RM2 billion in the illegal ahlong business.

Despite the hard work by the police, the four kingpins, after being detained for two months, were freed by the Advisory Board without the latter giving any reasons for the release. (The Advisory Board is one of the departments within the Home Ministry). This is despite a strong case against them and that at least a total of RM50 million in cash and other assets were frozen and seized from them. It was said that the syndicate paid RM11 million for their release. As a matter of fact recently there had been a few cases where kingpins detained under EO were unconditionally released despite the hard work by the police. If a study were to be made it can be shown that those detained under the EO but non syndicated are usually placed under a detention order signed by the Home Minister, but those detained and belonging to big and powerful syndicates as in the above mentioned case, are either freed unconditionally or merely subjected to a Restricted Order. This merely suggests that corruption and abuse of power pervades the Ministry of Home Affairs at the expense of the security of the country. It is true to the saying ‘power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

It is obvious that the Home Minister is using his position to consolidate his own political ambition. By appeasing his allies and cronies both in the political circles and the underground through police influence, he would not only benefit financially but also create a power base to strengthen his position in the UMNO echelons. Thus his creation of a bigger and larger PVRs and RELAs, (both under the portfolio of Home Ministry) purportedly to help in crime prevention, is merely a scheme of his grand design and plan to consolidate his grass root support for both the general election and that of UMNO.

It was reported that though thousands have signed up for this assignment on crime prevention, only a handful had actually reported for duty making the scheme a farce and a mockery of Government institutions. He is already one of the three Vice Presidents of UMNO and pending the next UMNO elections he has to ensure that his status quo in UMNO remains. But the Home Minister will not be just satisfied with number three. He would amass and mobilise all his resources including the Police Force, RELA and PVR to make sure that he could go for the number two post in UMNO and later of course the Presidency –hence the Prime Minister post. If Dato’ Seri Najib, his first cousin, could follow into his father’s footstep to become the Prime Minister, the Home Minister too would have the same dream to create history to follow his father’s footstep to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Since becoming the Home Minister, he has realized that the Special Branch can be instrumental in getting him there.

Veteran Cock Fighter