Otherwise, IGP’s statement that he can’t assure her safe passage makes him a laughing stock, says Kulasegaran.
PETALING JAYA: It’s a threat and a shocking statement.
That’s how two opposition leaders have described Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar’s move not to guarantee the safety of Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown if she decides to come to Malaysia to give evidence.
DAP MP M Kulasegaran said he was shocked that the IGP, who is in charge of security in Malaysia and has a police force of more than 100,000 people, could make such a statement.
“He’ll become a laughing stock for saying this. It speaks volumes of our security forces.
“She must be allowed to come here and her safety must be guaranteed.
“His statement shows he has no interest in her coming here to give a statement. Or, he does not want her to come here at all,” he told FMT.
The Ipoh Barat MP said it also indicated that Sarawak Report’s findings were becoming more reliable.
PKR’s Tian Chua said the statement could be considered as a threat.
“It shows how biased he is. Instead of showing his eagerness in finding out if the documents published by Sarawak Report are authentic, instead of investigating the truth, the IGP has acted as a guard dog to any potentially damaging information exposed by Clare.
“To me, it looks like the IGP is not acting in the interest of finding out the truth about corruption scandals,” said the PKR vice-president.
He said the IGP should not be intimidating those who could potentially expose information. He added that it is “very unbecoming and unprofessional” for Khalid to say that.
Earlier today, Khalid accused Rewcastle-Brown of having tarnished the reputation of the police force. He said she should come to Malaysia and prove all the allegations she had made through her whistleblower website.
However, he said he could not guarantee her safe passage.
“If she wants to come, let her come and prove whatever accusations she has made,” he said.
Khalid said most of the reports and allegations made in Sarawak Report were hearsay, adding that Rewcastle-Brown had made baseless accusations against him and others in Malaysia.
He claimed Rewcastle-Brown, who is based in London, has a personal vendetta and “wants to pour it out bit by bit while making all these accusations from overseas”.
Sarawak Report had said it was in possession of documents from sources indicating that Gopinathan Krishnan, the top suspect arrested last month as the key “intermediary” in a major police protection racket for vice activities in Melaka, had telephone contact with Khalid.
The site also said Gopinathan had contacted Khalid’s brother-in-law, Mohd Isa Hussin, who allegedly runs a business selling firearms and accessories, called Nilai Arms. It was previously reported that Khalid’s daughter holds a majority share in this business.
Khalid admitted today that he and his family knew Gopinathan.
He said those who knew him or his family would have to answer to the law if they were involved in any illegal activities.
Khalid also hit out at Rewcastle-Brown for claiming he was on a junket in Rome on government expense. He said he was actually with the Pahang sultan’s son, taking delivery of two helicopters.