POLITICIANS are to blame for the rise of racial and religious hatred, said Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador while assessing the current situation in the country.
He described politicians as behaving like “chameleons when it came to playing the race and religious cards”.
“The most notorious ones are the politicians. They have no fixed principle. One day, they will jump here and another day when they see an opportunity, they will turn the other way,” Hamid told The Malaysian Insight.
The former Special Branch (SB) chief said religious and racial sentiments are heavily politicised by all political parties in the country.
“When I was the deputy director (SB) and Akhil Bulat was the director, we engaged with all stakeholders.
“We engaged with the National Security Council, religious authorities and community leaders to tell them that it was very dangerous to allow race and religious issues to be played (up) by politicians,” Hamid said.
It is not his intention now to arrest anyone criticising the government using race and religion, he said.
“For me and my previous director, arresting a person was the last resort. Only if the situation went out of control.
“Remember when Teresa Kok was arrested under the ISA (Internal Security Act)? It was not the Special Branch who gave that order.”
Kok, now the minister of primary industries, was arrested at the entrance of her home in Petaling Jaya on September 12, 2008, and detained for seven days under the ISA for taking part in activities that could allegedly cause tension and racial clashes.
This was following reports that Kok allegedly called for the azan to be called at a lower volume by the Bandar Kinrara 5 mosque in Puchong.
The IGP added that he won’t allow the intelligence body to be used by the current government as it was used by the previous administrations.
“Special Branch is not a tool to suppress critics and I will not let that happen,” he said, admitting the SB was previously used by the old Barisan Nasional regime to silence critics.
Hamid, however, praised the new government for allowing dissidents to voice their views, saying that will only bring maturity to all.
“However, there should be a perimeter for all players to respect. If you cross that line, we will act.
“Malaysia is now reaching the process of maturity. It is good for the people to realise on their own rather than to suppress them.”
Hamid became the country’s 12th IGP, replacing Mohamad Fuzi Harun, who retired in May.
He was previously put on cold storage by BN for speaking up against the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. – June 13, 2019.
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