HOME Minister Hamzah Zainuddin was conspicuously absent this morning at the handover of duties ceremony for outgoing Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador and his successor Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

Attending In Hamzah’s stead were his two deputies, Dr Ismail Mohamed Said and Jonanthan Yassin, as seen in a live broadcast of the event on the police Facebook page.

No reason was provided during the event to explain Hamzah’s absence, but the minister has been at loggerheads with Hamid over the former’s alleged interference in the affairs of the police, in particular the matter of job appointments. 

Last Friday in his last press conference as the IGP,  Hamid took open aim at Hamzah, stating that the minister had overstepped his mark in meddling with police matters.

Hamid warned the country was on a slippery slope if politicians were allowed to act in such a manner.

“A minister cannot interfere in the affairs of the police force. The minister is only empowered to set policies.

“Don’t get upset (when I say that) the home minister has too much power. Come on,” he told editors in a press conference at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

Civil society and opposition politicians have also criticised Hamzah, who has admitted that his was one of the two voices in a leaked recording of a phone conversation discussing who to promote to the post of top cop.

Hamzah declared he did not wrong in talking about the matter with a man whose identity is unknown but whom he described as a “very important person”.

Various groups have called for Hamzah to be sacked or at least suspended pending an investigation.

Meanwhile, Acryl Sani, 59, takes over as the police chief from Hamid, who was IGP for two years.

Acryl Sani became the deputy IGP last August, replacing Mazlan Mansor, who retired after 41 years of service.

The new top cop previously led the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, the Strategic Resources and Technology Department, and the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department in Bukit Aman. – May 3, 2021.