Malaysian PM must act against deputy IGP

I penned this yesterday morning before minister Noh had disclaimed he told any foreigner to go back to their own countries. But I have updated it.


Malaysia’s Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) has called upon Prime Minister (PM) Ahmad Abdullah Badawi to suspend Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar for his shocking, outrageous and chauvinistic comments.

Lim pointed out that Noh, as a minister, ought to know better than to tell foreigners to go back to their own country if they believe that Malaysian police are cruel.

In doing so, Noh has virtually dismissed legitimate outrage and anger at Malaysia’s police Abu Ghraib scandal, both national and international. Lim said Noh has not only condoned a criminal act but also asserted the police abuse as Malaysia’s sovereign right; Noh has basically OK-ed our so-called law guardians to be cruel. This is in direct disregard of the recommendations of the Police Royal Commission Report to reform the police force.

In an earlier posting I indicated that the belligerent posturing by minister Noh was with an eye towards his potential placing in the UMNO hierarchy. The only thing he didn’t do was to wave a 13 foot keris (Malay dagger) called Taming Sari Extra.

Of course we recall that a MIC bloke was suspended for raising issues about the withdrawal of recognition for Crimea medical degrees. So I agree with Lim, though I doubt that the prime minister will suspend Noh as the inner workings of UMNO are more Machiavellian than the diabolical plot of a medieval Italian court. For all we know, and we all do suspect, Ahmad Abdullah Badawi may not have the necessary party clout to take that stern action, or perhaps Noh is part of his camp, and god knows the prime minister needs every support he can get from his own UMNO people.

But what has happened yesterday has been a retreat by minister Noh Omar. He claimed that reporters had misquoted him, offering a spin of an innocent statement purportedly uttered. We won't go into that as we sense the prime minister might have had a quiet word or two with him about the diplomatic debacle he had created, and the consequential potential for a trade and tourism disaster.

But what is possible and indeed should be carried out without further is the immediate suspension of the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Musa Hassan.

This public servant has amazingly demonstrated publicly his extraordinary insubordination and defiance of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) when he made a obscenely hasty and unjustified exoneration of the police woman abuser, Malaysia’s own Lynndie England.

The PM and DPM had from the very start publicly promised that there would be no (usual) cover-up of the investigations, with the former extending a public apology to Chinese nationals who had been mistreated by the police or immigration. Yet this public servant, an unelected representative, dared to contradict his bosses publicly.

This open insubordination is worrying to all of us because unless action is taken against him for his unacceptable faux pas, it means that even the PM or DPM dare not act against such a government employee. Therefore the PM should/must suspend the DIFP immediately or best, sack him.

It's also significant that the PM even stated, obviously for the ears of China, that there would be no 'cover up', implying that ........ I leave it to your imagination, with my clue in one of above paragraphs in italicised bold parentheses.