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by Pauline Puah, The Edge The Home Ministry has cleared the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan of abusing his powers, and two letters of endorsement he issued for two private companies to supply equipment to the police force were above board, parliament heard Thursday.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said the process was “transparent” although a letter supporting Asiacopter Sdn Bhd to supply 34 helicopters worth RM20 billion and another for Web Power Sdn Bhd to provide a RM4.2 billion “E-Police Force Solution” to the force were indeed signed by Musa. Chor said in his winding-up speech on a motion to cut RM10 of the IGP’s salary tabled by Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur-DAP), that the letters were issued before September 2006 when Musa was still a deputy IGP. Lim also revealed that Musa’s son had links with both companies. He said that contrary to Lim’s accusation, Musa had not acted as “chief lobbyist” in the matter, but was tasked to study the two proposals to determine whether the police force needed the equipment. Chor said that when it was ascertained that the equipment was needed, a demonstration was conducted and the then Home Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was present at the event. “There was no intention to bypass the process,” he said. Neither were the two letters being intentionally hidden, Chor said. Lim had raised the same query during his debate on the 2009 Budget in October. However, he did not produce the letters then. Responding to Lim then, Chor had denied that Musa had issued a letter to endorse Asiacopter to Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop. He also denied that the IGP had endorsed the “E-Police Force Solution” project. Explaining the issue yesterday, Chor said following his answer in October, he had conducted a detailed check and had found the letters on file. He reiterated that the proposals for the two projects had been submitted to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and were rejected. He sai the EPU wanted to study whether there were any other better and cheaper facilities. “There was transparency at all levels and there was no abuse of power,” he said. Dissatisfied with the answer, Lim pressed Chor to answer whether the letters were issued because Musa’s son was directly or indirectly involved in the two companies. He also wanted the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to carry out an inquiry into the matters. Chor defended Musa, saying that the ministry and the IGP would give their full cooperation should the PAC decide to conduct an investigation. Azmin Ali (Gombak-PKR) said that if Musa was of the opinion that the police force needed the equipment, his letters should only state the necessity for the facilities without naming the companies. Chor replied that the issue of integrity only arose if the IGP had forced the EPU to approve the projects. “For me, there was no problem (with the letters). The IGP did not breach any rules. It was only the perception of certain people,” he said. When pressed further by the opposition members of parliament (MPs), Chor said he would not be able to change the perception of the MPs who had already drawn their own conclusions. The argument on the issue only ended when Chor refused to give way to the MPs and moved to wind up on another motion tabled by Teresa Kok (Seputeh-DAP). Kok had sought to cut RM10 from the salary of the Home Minister and the IGP for abusing their powers in detaining her, Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng and blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act in September. The two motions were rejected when 48 Barisan Nasional MPs voted en bloc against them, while the opposition MPs had 30 votes.
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