AGE could determine who will be the next national police chief as the next in line for the post, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim, is due to retire in March next year.

The Malaysian Insight understands the Police Force Commission will meet on September 4 to decide between Noor Rashid and Special Branch chief Commissioner Mohamad Fuzi Harun, who has two more years of service before retirement.

Both are in line to replace Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, who is retiring on September 5 despite a last-minute campaign in Putrajaya to extend his service.

“The age factor is a main consideration especially with the general election to be held within a year. There must be continuity at the top of the force,” one source told The Malaysian Insight.

“Of course, Noor Rashid is first in line but he has seven months of service left. Any proposal to extend his service will look unjust as Khalid did not get an extension,” the source added.

It is a known fact that Khalid is angling for an extension although he has told the press that he is looking forward to retirement. Khalid became the IGP in May 2013 and has served a controversial tenure that has seen him regularly issuing orders and warnings by tweet.

Another government source said Fuzi could have the edge as he was made the acting DIGP when Bakri Zinin retired in 2014. The Special branch chief has had an extensive career in the intelligence department for some 25 years.

“Fuzi has two years to go in the force, so there his advantage and also continuity there,” the source said.

There has been talk that the Najib government would likely keep top government officials in service ahead of the general election which must be held by the third quarter of 2018.

Malaysia’s two top judges – Chief Justice Raus Sharif and Court of Appeal president Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin – had their services extended by three years earlier this month despite objections from the Malaysian Bar.

The Malaysian Insight reported last week that Noor Rashid was the choice for the top job but Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Police Force Commission would make the final decision. He chairs the commission which decides on the appointment of police officers.

Noor Rashid was named deputy inspector-general of police on December 3, 2014 while Fuzi became Special Branch chief in July 2015.

Noor Rashid was born on March 17, 1958 and joined the police in 1987 as an assistant superintendent of police. He is a physics graduate from Universiti Malaya.

The new appointments follow the massive reshuffle in the police force earlier this month when a total of 74 officers were transferred or promoted, with the internal security and public order department and the narcotics department getting new directors.

The reshuffle came after several raids that saw a number of police officers being held over allegations of graft, abuse of power and collusion with the underworld.

Several states, including Johor, Selangor, Sarawak and Negri Sembilan, will also have new police chiefs, which Khalid had said was in preparation of the next general election and the Sea Games now under way.

Khalid began his police career on December 5, 1976 at the age of 19 when he enrolled as an Inspector in Training at the Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur. He later graduated with a law degree from the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

As the IGP, Khalid is known for his extensive use of Twitter for public communication, including to issue warnings to Malaysians. This has earned him much criticism from activists, who accused him of using Twitter to curb free speech.

He was also accused of links to the underworld, while his daughter runs a firearms retail outlet in a country that requires police permits to own guns.

Khalid has admitted that some of his family members knew a Gopinathan, who was alleged to be a key “intermediary” in a major police protection racket across gambling dens and prostitution houses in Malacca. 

But the government cleared Khalid of wrongdoing, saying he had nothing to do with the case. – August 29, 2017.