“If the former IGP (Hamid) made such a claim publicly, it would only be proper for him to make a report and unveil the evidence that he has,” deputy home minister Jonathan Yasin told the Dewan Rakyat today.
“When I look at the statements that he made when he was nearing his retirement, I find it odd that he did not take any action on this issue himself. He only spoke about it when he was about to retire from the force.
“Making such a claim publicly is improper because it might tarnish all policemen.”
“So, we welcome him to assist us and ask him to reveal names. We are ready to conduct the probe openly so that we will be able to get the truth,” he said.
Yasin was responding to a call by Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) for the ministry to conduct further probes since the earlier one conducted by the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) concluded that there was no solid evidence to back Hamid’s claim on the existence of such a cartel in the police force.
According to Ramkarpal, EAIC’s conclusion showed its weakness and that of the home ministry in probing Hamid’s claim.
Before his retirement last year, Hamid had claimed that there was a cartel of officers who had been working with criminals to depose him as IGP. His successor, Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, said last May that the EAIC was looking into the allegations.
The home ministry had refuted Hamid’s claim, but said police had referred the matter to the EAIC to ensure an “independent and transparent investigation”.
Last month, EAIC chairman Sidek Hassan said that it was unable to determine allegations of a “dirty cops” cartel but that there was basis to claims that some officers were involved with criminal syndicates.
He added that the commission’s findings had been submitted to the chief secretary to the government.
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