LETTER | No 'cartel of dirty cops' - so has the former top cop lied?

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo asked the government to explain what action has been taken by the government in response to the claim by former IGP Abdul Hamid Bador, who was widely reported by various media for alleging that the police force was riddled with a cartel of dirty cops.

In a written reply in Parliament, the Home Ministry is reported to have ‘dismissed former Hamid's claim that a powerful "cartel of dirty cops" is causing problems to the police service’.

It now seems that after eight months since the March 2021 shocking revelations by Hamid, the ‘preliminary investigations’ showed no evidence to support the former IGP’s claim that was widely reported in the media and sent shockwaves across the country.

Does this statement of clarification in the august house of Parliament to Gobind Singh’s query then deem the top cop a liar? Has he diabolically misled the nation?

What makes the Home Ministry’s reply even more vexatious is the fact that despite dismissing outright the allegations of the presence of a powerful cartel of dirty cops in the police force, the ministry has referred the matter to the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) for a “free and transparent investigation”.

Concerned and patriotic citizens will now ask what then of the claim by the bold, outspoken former IGP who also alleged that Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin was trying to influence promotions in the police service?

And when there are no updates from the EAIC since May 2021, when the probe was initiated, can we blame Malaysians, and even people outside our shores, for speculating or even distrusting the system at work in the country?

People are asking why if a top cop is deemed to have lied and thereby misled an entire nation, who are we to believe from within the police force, or even for the matter, the ministry in charge?

Suppose it is unthinkably true that the retired top cop is wrong, what action will the government take? And how long will it take?

For as long as honest, forthright and wholly transparent answers are not there, the people are justified in speculating and suspecting that there is a massive plot at work, which is not in the best interest of building a ‘Keluarga Malaysia’.

This case now adds to our inventory of numerous other cases and reports of what is going wrong in our beloved nation that we struggled and sacrificed much to build since gaining independence.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.