Zahid on why elite police team was set up

Home minister says STAGG strike force can leap into action before any information can be leaked out about criminal activities.

(FMT) – Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Royal Malaysian Police had formed the STAGG elite team to counter information leaks at state and district-level police headquarters.

Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat today, the home minister said the Special Task Force for Anti-Vice, Gaming and Gangsterism (or STAGG) was made up of police officers trained to handle special operations

“I created STAGG because before an operation can be carried out, the information can apparently be leaked at the IPK (state police headquarters), IPD (district police headquarters) and police stations.

“So we created this elite team of 200 people, trained and chosen from the best of the best, to go straight to the target and not through IPD or IPK.”

Zahid said this in response to a question posed by Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena).

Mahfuz also asked the Bagan Datoh MP whether police would work on cleaning up the force to prevent future leaks at IPD and IPK levels.

Zahid did not answer directly but said even in political parties, there were those who leaked information when they were not happy about anything.