PETALING JAYA: DAP has called for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into a cartel of “dirty” cops, saying this is necessary because the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has refused to act on the matter.
In a statement, the party’s secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng, said an RCI was needed to get to the root of the problem and “clean up the force”.
Recently, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador revealed that a group of younger police officers had formed a cartel to topple him and dominate the force for their personal benefit.
Subsequently, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki was reported to have said the anti-graft agency had no intention to probe the “cartel” scandal as it was a problem among the police and should be resolved internally.
Lim said Azam’s rationale against initiating a probe was “perverted and preposterous”.
“Corruption is not an internal problem to be resolved internally but a crime that must be resolved publicly in courts.
“Azam should know the international best practices against corruption require an independent body to investigate and act, not an internal inquiry that would tend to minimise or cover up wrongdoing,” he said.
Going by Azam’s logic, Lim said, there would be no need for MACC to investigate and arrest police officers for corruption since it could be resolved internally.
“What are the circumstances that make it an internal matter and who decides whether it can be resolved internally?” he asked.
Lim accused MACC of abdicating its duties as stipulated under Section 7 of the MACC Act 2009, and said its refusal to investigate Hamid’s claims would affect its credibility.