Zahid: No excuse for cops to commit crimes

Deputy Prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at his office in Putrajaya.MOHD SAHAR MISNI/The STAR

SHAH ALAM: There is no excuse for cops to commit crime, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The Deputy Prime Minister said even though some of them claimed that they were duped, used and forced into committing crime, it cannot be accepted as an excuse.

Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said his ministry would clean up its enforcement agencies and weed out those involved in crime.

“Clean-ups should not be seasonal but carried out at all times.

“We should not feel ashamed if some of our personnel are found to have links with crimes. They will definitely not get any protection from us,” he told reporters after a programme at the Universiti Teknologi Mara Shah Alam here yesterday.

Dr Ahmad Zahid said the clean-up exercise would be extended to all police departments.

He was commenting on the large-scale clean-up in the Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigations Department after 16 senior officers were arrested for allegedly protecting illegal syndicates. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission also nabbed seven more cops in Melaka, including two district police chiefs, for alleged graft.

“I have met the Melaka police chief and given him an endorsement to oversee the matter and not to protect anyone,” he said.

Later, after chairing the High Level Committee On Illegal Cultiva­tion and Restoration of Cameron Highlands, he said it was decided that over 600 applications for temporary occupational licences by illegal farmers would be vetted by the Pahang government.

“The committee has also agreed to issue permits to illegal farmers cultivating on more than 217.3ha of government land since 30 years ago,” he said, adding that the Immigration Department would assist employers of illegal workers to get the necessary documents such as work permits and e-Kad (enforcement card).