YOURSAY | The deep state in the force strikes back

YOURSAY | ‘Despite such an explosive exposé from the ex-IGP, it's complete silence from the cabinet.’

Ex-IGP reveals the story behind Hamzah's 'boy'

Vijay47: I have never hidden my lack of admiration for any of the recent inspector-generals of police (IGPs), but with the latest scandal, I will for now disregard former IGP Abdul Hamid Bador’s shortcomings during his tour of service and instead, focus on the national evil we were warned about - the deep state.

The cast essentially has three players. Right now, new IGP Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani has only a walk-on role to be developed perhaps as the plot thickens, like Samwise Gamgee's (in The Lord of the Rings).

Surprisingly, the hero is Hamid who seems to have thrown caution to the wind and, come hell or high water, will gladly take on all foes. Without exposing official secrets, he revealed some of the shameful inner workings of the government. He has not said much, but he has said enough.

A major role in villainy will surely be that of Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, a crude Darth Vader, a two-bit player who believes his ascent in politics gives him the right of arrogant rule over all he surveys.

To refer to the third actor as Sauron (also from The Lord of the Rings) would be to accord him some merit for intellect; since I cannot think of anyone else, this mantel must fall on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Hamzah’s cunning is only one of the many failings that Muhyiddin has encountered, to all of which he responded with dumb inaction. We can expect similar paralysis here, terrified as Muhyiddin is, seeing ghosts behind every tree, wondering when the mythical majority would collapse.

Of course, to this scandal, Muhyiddin can claim he has been blindfolded, his hands tied, with the unfortunate suspension of Parliament.

Hrrmph: Hamzah should resign immediately. Despite such an explosive exposé from the ex-IGP, it's just silence from the cabinet. They are probably cooking up some nonsense to feed to the gullible rakyat.

The fact that Hamzah so readily admitted to the telephone conversation shows that the man is clueless as to what amounts to abuse of power and corruption.

Malaysia Bharu: @Hrrmph, Hamzah “clueless”? Don't underestimate this political frog. He may look dumb but he was a prime mover of the Sheraton Move. That’s how he wrangled his way into the Home Ministry.

And going by Hamid's account of his manoeuvres in the police’s Special Branch (SB), Hamzah could be plotting something big.

Cogito Ergo Sum: How can the intelligence unit of the police force be used as a political tool against its own citizens who happen to be in the opposition? It’s akin to the work done by the secret units in police forces in repressive dictatorships to suppress dissent.

The SB was one of the most respected units in the force when it helped defeat the communist threat in Malaysia in the past. To use it against our own citizens is despicable and I am glad they turned down that outrageous mission.

The Wakandan: More dirt has come out but are we surprised? The SB spying on political opponents is nothing new. For some folks, especially those in the rural areas, it has become a norm to mingle with SB officers knowing they would pass information to BN politicians.

This is what our civil servants have become. It was a matter of time until someone spilled the beans as Hamid has done.

One of the real challenges for the Pakatan Harapan federal government at the time was partisan civil servants who were former BN government “boys”. These boys would not cooperate with new policies they deemed antithetical to their former masters and therefore would most likely not execute them.

Siti Baldishah: Is the mandate of the SB the kidnapping of innocent pastors? Is it to get a "happy ending" for M Indira Gandhi's daughter? What is their mandate?

Don’t be coy, the SB has been misused from former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad's time to the present day. We all know that.

BobbyO: It looks like there are certain forces in the administration wanting to gain even more power. Maybe even the knight wants to control the king or work to overthrow the king.

By controlling the Police Force Commission, he would be the most powerful man. He can have any of his enemies or even political opponents investigated so that he can then control them.

Muhyiddin must be wary of those within his government who might be ambitious to move forward.

Headhunter: The more you hear of this story, the more frightening it is. It's like reading the story of a Mafia boss carving out his own territory.

I hope good officers within the police resist fully, or else the already tattered reputation of the police will be shredded to pieces. Now the picture is getting clearer on how gangs can thrive in the country and blatantly display their ill-gotten gains openly.

YellowMarlin8834: This is the problem when the government enters from the backdoor. The unelected prime minister is walking on a tight rope. Muhyiddin, your insistence to be the PM caused Malaysia to go down the drain.

You need to have capable and experienced colleagues to govern Malaysia. But you don’t have that because your Bersatu is such a small party and those with you are inexperienced or unqualified as well.

In the end, you enticed religious bigots from PAS and self-serving Umno to be in the cabinet. Needless to say, even the blind can feel that PAS totally fails in managing the country. As for the few from Umno, they have the experience, but are they supposed to be loyal to you or Umno?

RedRusa3189: This is getting too out of control. If we do not put a stop to this power-grabbing, Malaysia will soon become a junta.

I pray that the king and royalty step in to put a stop to these undemocratic practices. You are the leaders of this country and you cannot just keep quiet and let the country run wild and rot.

Don't treat this issue lightly and say you don't meddle in the political affairs of the government. If you do that, you will lose the respect of the people. Please don't let Malaysians down. Daulat Tuanku.

• COMMENT | The IGP and the ‘unintelligent’ minister

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