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IGP Bakri should realize that the most important challenge posed by the Police Royal Commission report is not the “RM34 million Cop” story but whether he is prepared to accept its recommendation of a “zero tolerance for corruption” target for the police Media Statement (2) by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya, Saturday): The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Omar’s warning from Bali to “corrupt policemen” to stop corrupt practices before the law caught up with them is a most inadequate response to the report of the Royal Commission to enhance the operation and management of the Royal Malaysian Police as the time is long past the issue of warnings. Only drastic actions, clean-up, the removal of “rotten apples” in the police force who comprise only a small section of the police personnel and the restoration of public confidence in a honest and corruption-free police force is the only acceptable response to the Police Royal Commission Report. In Bali for the 25th ASEAN Police Conference (Aseanapol), Bakri demanded that the Police Royal Commission name names of cops who have assets several times their income, especially the case of the retired senior officer who had declared assets totaling RM34 million. Berita Harian today reported that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) had started its investigations into the corruption revelations in the Police Royal Commission Report and had interviewed the Commission Secretary, Datuk Hamzah Md Rus who is also Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Internal Security. IGP Bakri should realize that the most important challenge posed by the Police Royal Commission report is not the “RM34 million Cop” story but whether he is prepared to accept its recommendation of a “zero tolerance for corruption” objective and target for the police. As the Police Royal Commission Report pointed out, “ACA’s report on corruption in government agencies between 1999 and 2003 found PDRM as the most corrupt. It had more than triple the number of corruption cases during the period compared with the next most corrupt government agency, the Town Councils.” (p.117) Even more important than individual cases of corruption is the problem of systemic corruption in the police force. Ten of the 125 recommendations of the Royal Commission are about eradicating police corruption, such as:
Members of Parliament, the civil society and all Malaysian citizens want to know what Bakri is doing about the Royal Commission’s proposals to wipe out the systemic and syndicated corruption in the police, or whether his interest is only the RM34 million “Cop” story. (21/05/2005)
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