KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s “shoot first” suggestion was shot down by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar today, who insisted members of his force open fire only in self defence.
Posting on his Twitter account @KBAB51 this evening, Khalid joined the police force’s denial that the home minister’s controversial remarks represented the official policy when dealing with suspected criminals and gang members.
“We are no cowboys, we don’t purposely take people’s life. We only shoot in defence of our own lives. Just to make you all safer. @PDRMsia,” Khalid wrote in one tweet.
“In a shootout, what choice is available for us. Faced with risks of being killed, we still take the risks. Just to make you safer@PDRMsia.”
Earlier today, federal Criminal Investigation Department chief Hadi Ho Abdullah defended Ahmad Zahid’s “shoot first” remark, claiming that the minister was urging police personnel to act in self-defence.
“If you look that what the minister said, you must take it in its full context. He said if there is clear, clear evidence, The Star quoted Hadi Ho as saying.
“In this instance, if the police go for a raid and the criminal fires shots, flashes out his firearm and shoots against us, that is clear.”
Yesterday, Ahmad Zahid expanded on his defence of his remarks, saying that it should not be construed as a directive to the police.
“I only said gangsters must be eliminated; it is up to the Inspector-General of police, the state police chiefs, the CID director how they go about doing so,” Ahmad Zahid said in an interview with news channel IMR.tv.
Last Saturday, Ahmad Zahid reportedly advocated a “shoot first” policy for the police when dealing with suspected gang members in the wake of a violent crime spree that has resulted in Malays purportedly making up the majority of the victims.
“I think the best way is that we no longer compromise with them. There is no need to give them any more warning. If (we) get the evidence, (we) shoot first,” he was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini based on a recording from a security forum in Malacca.
On Tuesday, Ahmad Zahid took to Twitter in an apparent defence of the remark, slamming his critics for failing to consider the rights of police officers and victims of crime, especially those killed.
“Mana hak asasi utk Polis dan mangsa rompak, tembak dan bunuh. Kenapa pejuang hak asasi tidakpun membela? Hak asasi hanya utk penjenayah?” he tweeted in Malay. [Translation: “Where are human rights for the police and victims of robbery, shooting and murder. Why are human rights activists not defending? Human rights only for criminals?”]
The “shoot first” remark has drawn a barrage of criticism from rights groups, lawyers, and lawmakers who accused Ahmad Zahid of, among others, sanctioning the unlawful use of deadly force by the police when dealing with suspected criminals.
One lawmaker also said the home minister’s remarks have put previous police shootings under suspicion, and urged for all such cases to be reopened.
Others have called for Ahmad Zahid to be sacked as home minister as well as arrested for instigating the police to commit murder.
