KUALA LUMPUR: In his final days as the nation's 12th Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador held back no punches when he reiterated that the men in blue should be free from any form of political intervention.
Aiming his sight on Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, the outgoing top cop did not mince his words when he said that there had always been 'bad blood' between him and the Perikatan Nasional appointed Home Minister.
"A minister should not interfere with the daily management of the Royal Malaysia Police. He is only accorded the mandate to determine policy and the direction of the force.
"And not to determine who should be appointed as the CPO (state police chief) or director of this and that department. That is not his work (prerogative).
"I want to make it clear that his role as the chairman of the Police Force Commission has a limit," Hamid told a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters.
He claimed that Hamzah had demanded the power to determine the office bearers in the force on the first meeting he chaired as the chairman of the commission.
"That is not good. There is no longer harmony (in the police force). It made it difficult for me to 'susun atur' (manage) the force.
"And because of such action, it will result in the emergence of many camps (factions) in the police force.
"There are camps aligned to IGP, camps aligned to the Deputy IGP, camps aligned to the minister - this is just not good (for the unity of the police force)," he said
Hamid said he had raised the matter on two occasions with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali.
"I did that. I shared my concern with them on somebody (who) is meddling (in the affairs of the police force).
"I respect everyone… I fear no one.
When asked what were the response towards his complaints lodged against Hamzah, Hamid responded: "Well, you can see?"
The government today announced the appointment of Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani as the new IGP effective May 4.