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Call for resignation of Musa
Hassan as Deputy IGP for his bombshell and insurbordination in openly
defying the pledge by PM and DPM of No Cover-Up in the Police Abu Ghraib
videotape scandal
________________________________ Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang
In one stroke, Musa has confirmed what the majority of Malaysians have suspected and feared – firstly, that the police cannot be trusted as far as investigating crime involving police personnel; and secondly, the police will deflect attention from the policewoman to the person who took the videotape! Who conducted the investigation and who exonerated the policewoman concerned? When did the Police usurp the powers the Attorney-General whether an offence has been committed? Musa’s statement is a bombshell as it is an open police defiance less than 24 hours of the pledge by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that there would be no cover-up at all. Abdullah said: “There should be no cover-up at all. I don’t want anybody to hide the bare facts obtained from the investigations.” Najib said: “We do not indulge in that…there is no reason to embarrass and humiliate people in that manner.” As the New Straits Times headlined on its front-page yesterday, “NAKED ANGER OVER LOCKUP ABUSES – PM and DPM pledge there will be no cover-up”, the nation-wide outrage and demands for action were focused full and square on the “alleged police mistreatment of a woman from China who was forced to strip and do ear-squats”. Although the person who did the videotape was also condemned, this was a secondary issue. Now the Police have exonerated the policewoman of any wrongdoing and shifted complete attention to the “perpetrator” who took the video footage. If this is not police cover-up, then nobody would know the meaning of a “cover-up”! Musa’s statement will raise a tsunami of public disgust, revulsion and condemnation for three reasons:
Musa Hassan should resign as Deputy IGP for his bombshell and insurbodination in openly defying the pledge by PM and DPM of No Cover-Up in the Police Abu Ghraib videotape scandal, challenging the authority and credibility of both the PM and DPM. The latest development has made it even more urgent that Parliament tomorrow should debate the police Abu Ghraib videotape scandal as a matter of urgent definite public importance. DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok had given notice to the Speaker, Tan Sri Ramli Ngah on Friday for such a motion, but under the present Standing Orders, Teresa Kok’s application can only be considered by the Speaker on Tuesday. This is because of a ridiculous provision in Standing Order 18(2) which provides that notice on a motion of urgent, definite public importance must be given “at least 24 hours not including holidays/public holidays before the commencement of the sitting”, which excludes weekends and public holidays from such a calculcation. This is a Standing Order for a Lazyman’s Parliament – where the Speaker, Ministers, MPs and government officials should not be disturbed during their weekends or public holidays regardless of what major or far-reaching events that occur in the interim. This is a disgraceful provision which can have no place in a modern, forward-looking and progressive Parliament, as it can only give MPs a bad image as completely out of touch with real-life developments. I spoke to the Speaker at his Hari Raya Open House yesterday to inform him that I would be applying for the suspension of standing orders to allow Teresa Kok’s motion to be considered and debated tomorrow.
Parliamentary Opposition Leader, MP for Ipoh Timur & DAP
Central Policy and Strategic Planning Commission
Chairman |