Kuala Lumpur May 3 — ABDUL Hamid Bador should continue his fight to reform the police force and weed out corruption as an activist in civil society groups.

They said the retiring Inspector-General of Police could continue on this path if he is serious about reform in the police force.

Election watchdog Bersih 2.0 chairman Thomas Fann said Hamid could set up his own unit to fight graft in the force or link up with existing organisations.

“He could either form a civil society organisation that focuses on police reform or join a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or even a political party to continue pushing for reforms.

“His first-hand experience and insights into the weaknesses of the current system would be invaluable,” Fann said.

Fann believes this is important as Hamid’s allegations of political interference were serious, and had confirmed the civil societies’ criticism that many of the police force’s actions were politically motivated.

In his final press conference as the country’s top cop on Friday, Hamid warned that the country was on a slippery slope if politicians meddled in or interfered with police matters.

Hamid trained his guns on Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin, whom he said had overstepped his boundary in interfering with police matters.

He was referring to the recent promotion and transfer exercise involving senior police officers, which the home minister had allegedly put to a stop.

“A minister cannot interfere in the affairs of the police force. The minister is only empowered to set policies.

“Don’t get upset, (if I say), the home minister has too much power. Come on,” he told editors in a press conference at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

The outgoing IGP said political interference in police affairs must be stopped immediately for the future of the country.

Hamid was appointed as Malaysia’s 12th IGP for a two-year term from May 4, 2019.

His last day as the nation’s top cop is today (May 3), with deputy IGP Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani replacing him.

Freedom to speak

Anti-graft watchdog Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) president Dr Muhammad Mohan felt it would be more useful for Hamid to join a civil society instead of an organisation for retired police personnel.

“This is because being in an NGO, he has greater freedom to speak up, especially to convince the country’s leaders to reform the police force,” he said.

Hamid could also continue working on the Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill 2019, which should be the first step to bringing the police’s image up.

This bill was something Hamid has been engaging in and discussing too. 

The National Patriots Association (Patriot), an NGO representing retired armed forces officers, said it welcomes Hamid with open arms.

Capt Dr Wong Ang Peng of Patriot said the society deemed Hamid a champion and a Malaysian hero.

“Patriot wants him to be with us, to be our leading light. What he did, no other IGP has done before.

“He brought to the fore corruption in the police force. He was sick to see corruption conducted by politicians in causing political frogs to hop.”

Wong also revealed that Hamid had said he wanted to retire and be a farmer.

“He deserves a few months of rest. He has started a spark. But that spark needs to be fanned into a flame to bring all Malaysians together to fight corruption, especially corruption in high offices and among top politicians.” – The Malaysian Insight

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