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Friday 12 February 2010

Musa Hassan’s crisis of confidence

Going by the sentiments of the police officers, even if the MACC issues a statement denying this incident very few will believe that denial. They will insist that the MACC is lying and that this is just a cover-up. How do you stay on as IGP if this is how your men look at you?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin The story making its rounds amongst the officers of the Royal Malaysian Police is that Musa Hassan’s house was raided by the MACC on Sunday and they found an exceptionally large amount of cash hidden in his house.

This story has spread the length and breadth of this country and every policeman and his dog is talking about it. The ironical part about this whole thing is not that the police officers believe this story. It is the fact that they are relating this story with glee and excitement while calling Musa IGP Bodoh is what is.

According to the talk amongst the police officers, the Deputy Director of the Negeri Sembilan branch of the MACC led a predominantly female team of officers to raid Musa’s house. Why they conducted the raid and why Negeri Sembilan and how much cash was found other than it was a very huge amount was never explained.

It seems Musa was then summoned to the MACC office where he spent three hours for his statement to be recorded. Musa, the story goes, informed the MACC that he is resigning next month and has in fact already submitted his resignation letter. He then pleaded with the MACC to allow him to ‘retire in peace’.

Now, if it was just one police officer talking about it then I would place the story in the suspect tray and label it as unfounded rumours. But when so many are repeating the same story from Kedah all the way down to Johor then it is very difficult to brush it off without further investigation.

The mainstream media does not appear to have picked up the story in spite of so many police officers talking about the alleged incident and some even swearing on their mother’s grave that is it true. A check with the MACC head office in Putrajaya bore no results. They in fact denied the incident.

So who to believe? The so many police officers that are talking about it or the MACC who said no such thing happened and who would never lie in a million years?

Anyway, what is more important here is not whether the story is true or not. Okay, that is important. But that is not what is bugging me. In the end, 90% of rumours in Malaysia always end up as the truth. Sometimes it may take many years but eventually the truth will surface. So in time we shall know whether this story is true or not.

What is of more concern to me is that it is the police officers themselves who are talking about it. And I should know considering many of them report to me. And they are talking about it excitedly, as if it is fantastic news. It is like they are so pleased that their boss, the top dog in the police force, has been caught with his pants down.

And the fact that they address their boss with great disrespect by calling him IGP Bodoh speaks volumes about what they think of him.

This demonstrates a serious crisis of confidence. If your own men think very lowly of you and make disparaging remarks about you then there is no way you can continue to lead them. How can you continue to lead them when they do not consider you their leader?

So, the truth or otherwise of this story is one issue but not yet the main issue. It could be true then again it may not. But the fact that it is the police officers from all over the country who are spreading this story and are doing so with glee while calling Musa names means there is something terribly wrong here.

Going by the sentiments of the police officers, even if the MACC issues a statement denying this incident very few will believe that denial. They will insist that the MACC is lying and that this is just a cover-up. How do you stay on as IGP if this is how your men look at you?

Anyway, let’s see what stories surface over the next few days. Let’s also see whether it is true that the IGP has tendered his resignation letter and will leave in March as how the story goes. Time will tell and March is only next month. Maybe the MACC might even come out with a statement over the next few days to deny this incident and lay everything to rest.

But that one question still remains. Can the IGP win back the respect and confidence of his officers or has it been lost for good? And, therefore, should the IGP really go in March or stay on one more term until 2011, his fourth term, as the ‘other’ story goes?

Hmm…is it not ironical that the police warn Bloggers about spreading rumours when rumour mongering is rampant amongst the police officers themselves?

Anyhow, me being the conspiracy theory buff that I am, I will always look beyond the stories and rumours and ask: who stands to gain out of all this?

The Deputy IGP was most hurt when Musa said he had to stay on as IGP because there is no suitable successor. Musa is saying that his number two is not good enough to take over so he (Musa) needs to stay on until the day he dies. So the Deputy IGP would be one beneficiary in this whole thing.

Next, of course, would be the new MACC boss. He swore to clean up the country of corruption and said we can kick him on his backside if he does not do this. Could roping in the top dog of the police force be that feather in his cap that he needs to ‘walk the talk’? After all, he is on an eight-year contract and he has to make sure he serves out his full term and not get kicked out halfway.

Nevertheless, while this may be good news in the event it is true, we must remember that someone can get charged only if the Attorney-General and the Prime Minister allows it. Therefore, even if the story is true, let us not assume that Musa is going to jail. The AG and PM will have to say yes before it will happen.

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