Even the cops want a new boss
(Malaysian Mirror) – Who will be the new IGP? Will it be the same old one – an extension of Musa Hassan’s term of service? Which means that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will recommend to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong another extension of tenure for Musa Hassan as Inspector-General of Police from next month.
But as far as DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang is concerned, enough is enough. He says that if a secret poll were to be taken among the 2,000 top police officers from ASP upwards, an overwhelming majority will definitely vote for a new IGP
Kit Siang says he has over a hundred reasons why Musa should not have another extension of his tenure as IGP, and nobody, whether Musa himself or the Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, dare to throw a challenge to him to list out the 100 reasons.
“I am prepared to subject my 100 reasons to public scrutiny and judgment, as to whether they are weighty and substantive enough to have a bearing on the decision as to who should be the No. 1 Policeman in the country from next month.
No personal axe to grind
“I have no personal axe to grind against Musa and am acting purely in the national interests, to roll back the tide of crime in the past five years which Musa had failed to do.
“I want to inject the Malaysian police force with the adrenaline, dynamism and a reinvigorated sense of purpose that only a new police chief could evoke.
“A new police chief can try to turn the force into an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police force respected internationally for its competence, ability and success to fulfill the three core police functions of keeping crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights,” says the Ipoh Timur Member of Parliament.
Although he does not have a candidate to be the new IGP, Lim believes Malaysians as well as the 100,000-strong police force just cannot believe that the present batch of police leadership are so short of leadership material that the prime minister cannot find a single one from the topmost 100 police officers of Deputy IGP, CPs, DCPs, SACs I and II to qualify to be the new IGP.
Safety of the people at risk
“If more reasons are needed to buttress the case for a new IGP, they can be found in the various opinion polls on the Home Ministry website since last month – where 9,729 persons or 97 per cent of 10,060 respondents polled from 20th to 28th July 2009 felt unsafe because of the high crime rate, with only one per cent or 89 respondents feeling safe and two per cent or 242 respondents in the “uncertain” category.
“In the same poll, 95 per cent or 8,883 out of 9,319 respondents felt that the safety of the people was not guaranteed as compared to three per cent or 248 respondents who felt it was still guaranteed, with two per cent or 188 respondents in the ‘uncertain’ category,” Kit Siang said.
How can the top police officer who had served for three years as IGP, including a two-year extension of his tenure, ask for a renewal as IGP with such disastrous record and abysmal vote of no confidence as illustrated by the Home Ministry’s own website polls?
The latest opinion poll on the Home Ministry website regarding the Internal Security Act, which went up on Wednesday night is another crippling vote of no confidence in Musa as IGP.
Let there be a new start for the police
As at 1.30pm on Friday, a total of 6,614 people had participated in the poll, with 5,779 or 87 per cent of the respondents dismissing it as “draconian law”, while 10 per cent or 666 respondents accept it as “preventive law” with three per cent or 169 persons “uncertain”.
From the poll, 91 per cent or 6,117 out of 6,752 respondents want the ISA repealed, nine per cent or 610 respondents want it retained with amendments while 25 were “confused”.
Kit Siang pointed out that all the Home Ministry website polls in the past weeks highlight one imperative – there must be a new start for the police force under a new Inspector-General of Police to begin the concept of democratic policing.
A new IGP can rewrite the very mission and vision of the police, not to be the protectors of the government regime but to be the friends and protectors of the people, protecting the rights of citizens and the rule of law, and ensure the safety and security of all.
