Retired cops will spill the beans if given protection, veteran says

Many retired senior cops can share volumes of testimony about bad cops overwhelming the good cops in the police force, according to a former deputy commissioner of police.

(FMT) – Zulkifli Mohamed said history would show that former inspector-general of police Abdul Hamid Bador was perhaps the first to come forward and openly declare the existence of a corrupt cartel in the force.

In doing so, Hamid had affirmed his determination to attempt and weed out the bad within the police force, said Zulkifli, who is deputy president of the Patriots group of veterans.

He said Hamid had made a formidable attempt as the powerful cartel certainly had the backup of the rich and powerful.

Referring to a dispute between the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) and Hamid over an alleged cartel of corrupt cops, Zulkifli called for the EAIC to be made answerable to a parliamentary committee to ensure its independence and impartiality.

“It cannot be under the dictates of any politician who serves as a presiding minister of the police force,” Zulkifli said.

Giving parliament oversight powers on the EAIC “could be the way forward in restoring the dignity of the long-suffering image of the (police) force”, he said.

“Will the EAIC deny what is a known fact within the force that to get into the good books of your superiors and to be ‘one of them’, it must be at the expense of principles and integrity, becoming blindly subservient to their orders and the orders of hidden hands above them?” he said.

EAIC chairman Sidek Hassan had recently hit out at Hamid over the “cops cartel” issue, saying Hamid had lost his right to comment on the matter for failing to submit any evidence to support his claim.

Hamid had previously claimed that Sidek was not familiar with “the system” in the police force.

Zulkifli said “Hamid is not wrong in challenging the EAIC as cops can give voluminous lessons – provided that they will not be eventually victimised,” he said.

Zulkifli said any investigative body tasked to correct the wrongs must have investigative skills, expertise and knowledge of the inner workings of the police force in order to be able to deal with such a deep-rooted problem.