Transfers of police officers: Stop your meddling, Hassan chides Home Minister

JOHOR BAHRU: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin needs to withdraw his directive that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador postpone the decision to transfer senior police officers.

Pasir Gudang Member of Parliament Hassan Karim said Hamzah should not meddle in the matter as Abdul Hamid must be given space and freedom and not interfere in his jurisdiction.

He said that the transfers were within the jurisdiction of the IGP appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Hamzah had no power under the law to delay, let alone thwart the decision taken by Abdul Hamid.

“I take what the Home Minister is trying to do is serious.

“Even though the country is now in a state of emergency and Parliament is suspended, this does not mean that the Home Minister has powers that go beyond the provisions of the law to the point of interfering with the jurisdiction of the IGP.

“One thing that needs to be reminded is that the IGP has recently revealed the existence of cartels in the PDRM which have affected the integrity of the PDRM.

"Today (Saturday) the IGP revealed that drugs have become the number one threat to the country.

"According to him, the amount of drugs seized by the police in PDRM's custody now is RM3.5 billion," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Hassan said what was worrying was when the media revealed that Malaysia has become the target of international drug cartels which aimed to make the country a transit centre for drugs before being smuggled to third countries.

He said PDRM must remain as an agency that maintains security and public order to function professionally, efficiently and with honesty.