We never considered ourselves above the law - IGP

Stung by criticism by former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar today stressed that the men in blue are not above the law.

Commenting on his remarks on rogue policemen, Khalid said there were times that the former Chief Justice’s remarks were off the mark.

He also said Mohamed Dzaiddin’s remarks were uncalled for.

“First, we have never considered ourselves to be above the law. We view ourselves as mere enforcers of the law, who are at times, subject to the same law,” he said in a statement on the Royal Malaysian Police Facebook page.

“We do not deny the existence of a handful of black sheeps who flout the law while enforcing it. But, take note, they form only a minuscule of the police force,” he added.

Mohamed Dzaiddin was speaking at a public forum Rogue Cops – Workable Solutions – Police Accountability in Malaysia, jointly organised by HAKAM and Malaysian Bar on May 28.

In his speech, he had said that the police condone the abuse of power by police personnel by ‘building the blue wall of silence’ and turn a blind eye on police violence.

“To charge that we practice the unwritten rule of ‘the blue wall of silence’ in protecting our own kind is preposterous,” he said.

Khalid said the police had set up the Department of Integrity and Standard of Compliance to monitor any form of abuse of power among policemen.

He also argued that the police training modules include basic understanding of human rights and fundamental rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

On custodial deaths, raised by the former CJ, Khalid said from 2010 to 2014, a total of 51 cases of death in police custody were investigated.

He said out of that four, four policemen were charged in court over the death of detainee N. Dharmenderan.

"There are many good policemen out there who have and are willing to give their lives for the nation," Khalid said.