KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh today urged the authorities to investigate Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin since he confirmed the voice on an audio clip discussing selection of police officers is his.
“I believe that was really my voice. And I have done nothing wrong. What is the offence here?
“The only offence was the person who taped my conversation with someone. That is wrong. What I did was not wrong,” Malaysiakini quoted him as saying.
“If there was no wrong doing, why was there a need for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to have been hauled up recently by the police for his statement to be taken in investigations under section 505(b) of the Penal Code in connection with an audio recording in which he allegedly featured?
“If there was no wrongdoing by Hamzah, why the double standards in investigating Anwar in a similar situation,” he said in a statement today.
Ramkarpal said that Hamzah’s case is serious as appointments of senior police officers, which was discussed in the audio clip, comes within the purview of police and not the Home Ministry.
“As such, there can be no doubt that Hamzah’s said discussion in the said audio clip may suggest interference of the Home Ministry in the appointment of such officers which is downright wrong and cannot be condoned.
“Furthermore, the interference of the Home Ministry in the appointment of police officers will negatively affect public perception of the transparency and integrity of the said appointment process as it may result in people questioning if the government has a hand in the appointment of senior police officers,” he said.
Ramkarpal added that incoming Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani “would do well to initiate such investigations against Hamzah as one of his first assignments as IGP failing which, the perception that there exists double standards in investigations relating to government leaders compared to opposition leaders will certainly remain”.
