News of the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun and a group of 16 Bukit Aman top brass police officers on an alleged luxurious working visit to Istanbul, Turkey, has hit the news for the past week. Based on a calculation first highlighted by Sarawak Report, a total of RM312,441 could have been spent on both business class flights and rooms in a post hotel in Istanbul.
This is not the first time that the top cop had been caught in a controversy. In April 2018, invitations were sent to various high ranking police officers in the region to attend the wedding reception of his daughter. This controversy had raised the question of who was paying for the business class return flight tickets and one-night accommodation for the IGP.
With this trip to Istanbul, presumably fully paid for by the taxpayers, Bukit Aman has to come clean; it cannot continue to play mute to this news of public interest. Imagine what sort of brickbats would have hit our cabinet ministers if one of them brings 16 staff to the said tour, especially when our national debt is massive.
Fuzi must explain if there was any abuse of power, especially since he himself is slated to retire in May and there is no benefit for him to go on the study tour to combat gambling.
With the country’s coffers already being plundered by the former regime, we cannot afford to have our IGP bringing his troupe on a spending spree especially when they could just “walk across” the causeway to Singapore, which boasts of having the world’s second lowest crime rate after Japan. Efforts must be made to study the methods used by Singapore to combat all vices, not just gambling. Singapore’s crime rate is so low that many of its shops do not even have to be locked up like in Malayisia! Does Fuzi have to lock his hotel room in Istanbul when he is out dining and shopping?
To leave behind a great legacy, Fuzi should bring two or three of his trusted aides to the country that Jho Low is said to be in hiding in order to negotiate for his capture and repatriation.