Media Conference Statement (3) by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, 25^th July 2009: 

Offer of full co-operation with Hishammuddin to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights

The sustained 97% of those who feel unsafe and 95% who hold that their security is not assured out of the respondents whether out of 903 at midnight on 23th July, 1,224 at 7.40 am and 2,947 at 2.20 pm on 24th July and 5,062 at 12.30 pm on the Home Ministry website poll is a crying shame of the failure of the police to ensure that Malaysians, visitors and investors are safe and feel safe in the country.

A breakdown of those who responded to the Home Ministry poll in the past 48 hours are as follows:

Who should be responsible for this deplorable law and order situation in Malaysia in the past few years?

The two persons who should be held responsible are the Inspector-General of Police and the Home Minister.

It is of course not fair to hold Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein responsible for the failure of the police to perform its first duty to Malaysians – to keep crime low and protect the personal safety of all Malaysians – as he has only been the Home Minister in less than four months.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, has no such excuse. He has been IGP for close to three years and Malaysians feel even more unsafe today than when he first became IGP in September 2006.

Malaysia must start off on a new page to create new image for the Malaysian Police force to ensure that it is capable of performing the three core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights.

I am prepared to co-operate fully with Hishammuddin to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights but the first step for the Police to start a new page is to have a new IGP to provide new and effective leadership.

This is the purpose of the Parliamentary Roundtable on a new IGP for a safe Malaysia in Parliament on Tuesday at 10 am – to set the Malaysian Police on a new course of direction under a new Prime Minister and a new Home Minister.

Musa Hassan’s renewed term as Inspector-General of Police expires in September.

I believe that there are enough senior police officers who could take over the position of IGP from Musa – in particular from the ranks of the eight top police officers occupying key police positions below the post of IGP instead of renewing Musa’s tenure of IGP for another two years into 2011.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor