The IGP must fall on his sword
As far as Malaysians are concerned, the order to act violently against the Bersih protestors came from Najib’s office. How many, other than those in the Prime Minister’s inner circle, know that Najib actually ordered that there should be no violence and no pre-rally arrests? How many outside Najib’s office know that the IGP admitted to the Prime Minister he had lost control of the police on that day and that it was the result of the rumour regarding three police officers being killed?
THE CORRIDORS OF POWERRaja Petra Kamarudin
The alarm bells should have gone off in Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s office last year when the IGP, Tan Sri Ismail Omar, said that only 1% of the police officers are corrupted (READ BELOW).
30 years ago, Tan Sri Mohamed Amin Osman, the Deputy IGP, told me that if you want to clean up the police force then only 3% of the police would be left. What Tan Sri Amin meant was that 97% are corrupted. And you mean to tell me that things have improved so much since 30 years ago?
Anyway, that is not what I am saying. That is what the Deputy IGP -- who later became the Acting IGP when the IGP, Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar, went to London for a year to do law -- said 30 years ago.
The point is, no need to tell us how many percent of the police are corrupted. For 30 years we have been playing with percentages. Tell us how you plan to clean up the police force. No one is telling us that.
Put me in charge of the Police Force Commission (PFC) and I will do what China does. China puts a bullet in the heads of corrupt government officers and police personnel. Hudud is a walk in the park by comparison. I prefer China’s Hudud any time.
Now, read the latest Human Rights Watch report below regarding the Bersih 2.0 rally last year. That fiasco can also be ‘credited’ to the IGP. And the manner in how the police handled the Bersih 2.0 rally not only surfaced on the international radar screen and greatly embarrassed Najib’s government, but it was also the reason why many more protestors, especially the non-Malays, turned out for the Bersih 3.0 rally.
In other words, the more brutal the police act towards peaceful demonstrators, the more defiant the people would become and the more politically active they become as well.
When news broke that Bersih is, yet again, going to organise a rally in April, the IGP went running to the Prime Minister to ask him as to what to do. What the hell is going on? The IGP should be having his fingers on the pulse of the nation. He should be the one advising the Prime Minister as to what to do, not asking the Prime Minister what the police should do.
The IGP told the Prime Minister that the police could round up and detain the organisers. Najib almost flipped. “No arrests!” said Najib. “No arrests and no violence. Allow them to hold the rally.”
The IGP then briefed Najib about the secret meetings some of those Bersih ‘masterminds’ were having. According to the mole in Bersih (yes, there is a mole in Bersih) the plan was to ‘duduk bantah’. They planned to occupy Dataran Merdeka and camp there as long as it takes until the government is brought down.
The rally can be allowed, said Najib, but under no circumstances must the marchers be allowed to occupy Dataran Merdeka. Get a court order if necessary to make it illegal to occupy Dataran Merdeka. But avoid violence and no pre-rally arrests. Go by the book, Najib stressed, and avoid a repeat of the Bersih 2.0 fiasco.
Then, on 28th April 2012, all hell broke loose. The police violence in Bersih 3.0 was as bad or worse than in the Bersih 2.0 rally. What happened to the ‘go by the book’ and the ‘absolutely no violence’ instruction from the Prime Minister?
The IGP crawled back to Najib’s office with this tail between his legs and sheepishly told the Prime Minister that he had lost control of the police on that day.
What happened? What made the police go berserk?
It was because of the rumour, the IGP replied. There was a rumour circulating amongst the police that three police personnel had died, killed by the Bersih protestors. Hence the police were outraged and were out for revenge. They no longer could control the police personnel on the ground.
Three days ago, on 15th May, the IGP celebrated his 59th birthday. At 59, the IGP can be asked to retire. And for sure he should not be given an extension of service on contract, even if for just a year. The IGP should just be made to go. Ask him to go now and make him take a few months leave until retirement day.
As far as Malaysians are concerned, the order to act violently against the Bersih protestors came from Najib’s office. How many, other than those in the Prime Minister’s inner circle, know that Najib actually ordered that there should be no violence and no pre-rally arrests? How many outside Najib’s office know that the IGP admitted to the Prime Minister he had lost control of the police on that day and that it was the result of the rumour regarding three police officers being killed?
Even if three police officers had been killed as initially rumoured, that is still no excuse to lose control of the police force. Any IGP who loses control of the police force can no longer stay on as IGP. And if Najib wants to clear his name and show that the order to act violently against the Bersih 3.0 protestors did not come from him, then the IGP must be forced into retirement.
Najib must remember that back in 1998, when Anwar Ibrahim was beaten up by none other than the then IGP, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor, everyone said it was done on the instructions of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Even I, who did not like Anwar, became a staunch Anwar supporter because of the ‘black eye’ episode. I was so angry with what the police did, which I too believed was done on the instructions of the Prime Minister.
It was made worse when the IGP lied and announced that Anwar was safe when, in fact, he had been beaten up. Until today many people believe that Rahim Noor pleaded guilty and went to jail for two months to save Dr Mahathir. Dr Mahathir’s name has not been cleaned up entirely.
And the same goes with Bersih 3.0. This is going to be Najib’s ‘black eye’. Hence Najib must make the IGP pay for this. If the IGP stays, then most Malaysians will be convinced that the order to act violently against the Bersih 3.0 protestors came from the Prime Minister’s office.
If it did not, and if the IGP really lost control of his police, then he should be made to fall on his sword. There are no two ways about it. Either the IGP goes or Najib is guilty of violence on 28th April 2012. Which is it going to be?
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IGP: Malaysian police only 1% corrupt
(MSN NEWS) - Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar announced Wednesday that only one per cent of the 120,000-strong Royal Malaysian Police were 'corrupt or involved in immoral activities'.
Although he said the number was small, Ismail was quoted by Bernama saying that the number could spread like cancer if left unchecked.
The Royal Malaysian Police also claimed that public confidence in the police regarding bribery has increased by around five per cent, according to a survey by the police and the National Key Result Area (NKRA).
Ismail has an ambition to achieve zero per cent corruption in the police force, something he considered as possible given the low numbers reported by the survey.
The police is frequently perceived by members of the Malaysian public as being susceptible to bribery. Users on social networking sites responded to the announcement with skepticism about the one per cent claim made by Ismail.
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Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and Association
(HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH) - Rights of expression, peaceful public assembly, and association —guaranteed in Malaysia’s Constitution—continued to be violated in 2011. On May 21 Bersih announced a July 9 “Walk for Democracy” to call for reform of the electoral system. In mid-June the police announced that no police permit, required by section 27 of the Police Act, would be issued for the march. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar threatened that “stern action” would be taken against anyone involved in an “illegal rally.”
Throughout June police mounted repeated shows of force, arresting activists distributing leaflets, wearing yellow Bersih shirts, or coordinating gatherings to promote the rally. On June 29 a plainclothes police unit without a warrant raided Bersih’s secretariat, confiscating Bersih materials and detaining some of those present for questioning; on July 1 the Home Ministry declared Bersih an illegal organization under the Societies Act. On the day before the march police obtained a court order prohibiting 91 rally leaders from entering downtown Kuala Lumpur. Although the thousands who eluded police blockades were peaceful and well-disciplined, but police broke up the rally using baton charges, chemically infused water cannons, and teargas barrages. Nearly 1,700 people were arrested. Journalists and ordinary citizens released photographs and video documenting much of the abuse.
On June 25, police stopped a bus carrying PSM activists to a planned rally, detaining 30 on suspicion of “preparing to wage war against the king.” They were released from pre-trial detention on July 2, but police immediately re-detained six of their leaders under the EO. All 30 were charged under the Societies Act and a section of the ISA outlawing possession of subversive documents. On September 19 the attorney general released them and on October 10, a court affirmed the release as a “discharge not amounting to an acquittal,” which makes them subject to future prosecution. On October 28, six PSM leaders were granted the same discharge.
READ MORE HERE: http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-malaysia
