De facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan is again irresponsible and failing to do his job, when he rejected calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate explosive disclosures by the Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador. Abdul Hamid had exposed a cartel of corrupt officers in the police force, right up to a former Inspector General of Police on the payroll of crime syndicates.
How can this scandal be dealt with internally by the Police Force Commission, when it is chaired by the Home Minister and members when such criminal acts allegedly occur. This is no longer an internal matter when a former IGP can be susceptible to the extent to be on the payroll of crime syndicates.
Only a RCI can clean up the police force from such corrupt elements and salvage the reputation of a majority of police officers and personnel not involved in such nefarious activities. Otherwise, the PN government is not serious about combating corruption and crime, like the saying “harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi.”
Malaysians want an open public inquiry, not an internal probe where the public fear will lead nowhere. Any failure to establish a RCI to root out this grave problem afflicting the police force, will only lead to public distrust and loss of confidence in the professionalism, integrity, independence and capability of the police force to combat crime. This will be the ultimate test of the PN government’s commitment to fighting corruption and crime.