Robert Phang to Former IGP Musa Hassan: Stop Demeaning Police Leadership

December 14, 2011

PRESS STATEMENT
TAN SRI DATUK ROBERT PHANG MIOW SIN
Justice of Peace
Chairman – Social Care Foundation

MUSA HASSAN SHOULD STOP DEMEANING POLICE LEADERSHIP

On December 3, 2011, Utusan Malaysia reported that the former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan was a keynote speaker at the 25th Media Criticism Colloquium organised by the Faculty of Communication & Media Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Tan Sri Musa is reported to have said:

"Kita selalu membaca atau mendengar mengenai penurunan kadar jenayah, tetapi rakyat masih berasa tidak selamat kerana tidak yakin dengan maklumat penurunannya yang diterima itu."

In effect, Musa Hassan is questioning the credibility of the statistics provided by Polis DiRaja Malaysia (PDRM) and the Home Ministry about the reduction of crimes in the country. In effect, he is questioning the integrity of the present leadership of PDRM under current IGP Tan Sri Haji Ismail Omar and the Deputy IGP Dato’ Seri Khalid Abu Bakar in reducing crimes and in making the country safer.

It should be noted that the image of the PDRM was at its lowest during the time that Musa Hassan was the IGP. Crime rate was very high and on the rise. He was embroiled in many controversies. His ADC (Aide-de-camp) wrote an open letter of allegation accusing him of creating a fictitious blog to frame Deputy Home Minister, Dato’ Johari Baharom, and called him a “pengkhianat bangsa”. Former OCCI KL Dato Mat Zin also accused him of fabricating evidence and perjury. There were allegations of corruption against him including his complicity with an underworld operator Goh Cheng Poh @ Tengku Goh in the loan shark menace during that time. That resulted in six rank and file policemen and even the Director CCID, Dato Ramli Yusuff, being charged by AG Gani Patail. They have all been acquitted.

Musa Hassan is the first IGP in the history of the country and the PDRM to appear in court to give evidence against his own Director CCID, Dato Ramli Yusuff. In acquitting Dato Ramli, the Sessions Judge in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah delivered a damning judgment calling Musa Hassan in effect as a liar.

It was because of his failure to control the rising crime rate that the government tasked the Home Minister, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, to develop innovative crime prevention measures and making it one of the National Key Result Area (NKRA). It was through this initiative that the crime rate had been successfully reduced. Yet, Musa Hassan accused Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein of interference with the internal affairs of the PDRM when his contract as IGP was not further renewed. All these are still fresh in the minds of most Malaysians.

Thus, it is very mischievous of Musa Hassan to question the accuracy of the national crime index to discredit the efforts of the PDRM. The fact is this, the current Deputy Home Minister, Dato Abu Seman Yusop, has just disclosed a recent study on Global Peace Index 2011 by an Australian based Institute for Economics and Peace which rated Malaysia as 19th among 153 countries in terms of being secure. This is also the highest ranking within South-East Asia. Musa Hassan should accept and recognise such internationally conducted and respected study instead of sounding like a sour grape.

Musa Hassan should not use a media colloquium to cast aspersions on the Police Force that he once led. As a Principal Lecturer of the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), he ought to know the impact of such mischievous statement and journalistic slant. My Muslim friends tell me that there is even a chapter in the Holy Quran that forbids Muslims from sowing the seeds of suspicions and discord:

"Say: I seek refuge with the Lord ...from the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper),..." (Holy Quran An Nas 114:4)

Musa Hassan should know all these things better as had just been a victim of false rumour mongering about his marriage to an artist with a huge multi-million ringgit dowry. That is of course false and I applaud him for lodging a police report against these mischief-maker. I would also encourage him to sue them for defamation to clear his name. Thus, Musa Hassan should not do the same thing to others, as in the Christian saying:

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (The Bible-Matthews 7:12)

In the spirit of Christmas, I ask that we, Malaysians, stop all these suspicions, back-biting, casting aspersions and from creating dissensions that would cause divisiveness and chaos in our society. We should stand as one united people – as 1Malaysia!

“HUMBLENESS IS GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL, THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.

Tan Sri Datuk Robert Phang Miow Sin
Justice of Peace