PUTRAJAYA, Feb 26 — The post of Inspector-General of Police must be respected as whoever assumes the role acts as an institution and not an individual, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today after a group threatened to assassinate the country’s top cop.

The home minister said threats against any public office “should be avoided” as those appointed to such roles are merely “translating their responsibilities as it is”.

“In this case, the IGP is not a person. He is an institution. Please respect the institution, because his main responsibility is to make sure that the element of security is translated in general,” Zahid said at a news conference.

Yesterday, a video spread on social media showed three masked men under the banner of Anak Malaysia Anti Demokrasi threatening to assassinate IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar by blowing up his car.

The three individuals ended the short video clip by setting a toy car on fire, accompanied by sounds of explosions.

Khalid has since responded to the video by saying such threats “do not scare [him]” and warned the group of anonymous men to end their “irresponsible” actions as it is a serious threat to national security.

Ahmad Zahid today insisted that whatever action or statement made by the IGP is always representative of the police force, and should not be undermined.

“Any statement issued by him is not his personal statement. It's a statement issued by an institution and this must be respected,” the minister said.

The video clip of the threat against the IGP was posted barely two weeks after four individuals claiming to be Islamic State members threatened to set off firecrackers at Malaysian courthouses to symbolise their loss of faith in democracy.

In the video by “isis malaysia 69”, four individuals garbed in black were seen in front of the Malaysian flag. Three are standing, with one holding up what appears to be a Molotov cocktail, while the fourth man is seated at a table with three more Molotov cocktails and appears to be reading from a script.

Police have since detained two university students in connection with the video, which was panned by social media users as a hoax.