IGP Khalid is retiring! Here are 5 times he surprised everyone with his decisions

IGP Khalid Abu Bakar is retiring in September!! Yep, after he blows 60 candles on his birthday cake, top cop KBAB will be hanging up his blue uniform, cos 60 is the mandatory retirement age in Malaysia, and Deputy IGP Noor Rashid will be replacing him. We heard that Khalid plans to enrol in cooking classes to learn more than just how to fry eggs. Maybe he can open a kebab stall! Maybe he could hire the Bangladeshi worker who looks like him!

Since becoming Malaysia’s 10th IGP when he took over from Tan Sri Ismail Omar on 17 May 2013, Khalid has been seen as a controversial figure by some. He has been criticised for going easy on government ministers and pro-government activists while being hard on the opposition.

“This has resulted in Khalid failing to command the confidence of the public due to double standards practiced in investigations by his men.” – Eric Paulsen, co-founder of Lawyers for Liberty, Free Malaysia Today

It reached the extent that some people have tried to get rid of him, there was a #PecatIGP campaign in March 2015, and there were some folks who tried to get him banned on Twitter, his favourite platform to tangkap people for sedition.

But there have been times IGP Khalid has surprised the nation. Here are 5:

1. When he didn’t try to stop the TangkapMO1 rally

At last year’s #TangkapMO1 rally, organised by a coalition of student groups, Khalid surprisingly said the police were willing to facilitate the rally! BUUT on the condition that they find a new venue because originally they wanted to hold it at Dataran Merdeka, however DBKL had denied their request.

So, despite the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) requiring an advance notice of 10 days to be given to the police, the IGP’s response to allow the rally to continue at an alternative location seems rather generous.

“DBKL does not allow them to use Dataran Merdeka, that means they have to find other places where the owner gives permission. Although time is already running out, if the place is suitable, we can consider.” – IGP Khalid, The Malay Mail Online

Having said that, Malaysians DO have have the right to assemble peacefully la…’peaceful’ being the operative word. The PAA is the primary law that governs peaceful assemblies, as long as it is done without weapons, no violence, riots, and stuff. IF however protesters threaten harm to persons or damage to property, then it is not a peaceful assembly and could be dealt with as a crime under the Penal Code and the cops can step in.

So in a way, the cops’ facilitating the rally isn’t that weird (even if it is a Tangkap MO1 rally), coz it’s their job to keep the order and make sure rallies stay peaceful, anyway??

2. When he had zero tolerance for Jamal Yunos’ threats against Bersih

Before Jamal Yunos set his sights on KJ’s position of Umno Youth Chief, he was busy being the leader of the Red Shirts, who have been known to behave violently towards Bersih supporters. In October 2016, he made this scary threat on Twitter if the Bersih rally were to take place:

Kenyataan menghasut sebegini tidak boleh diterima. @PDRMsia akan ambil tindakan tegas dgn segera. pic.twitter.com/0xMNUR0dSx

— Khalid Abu Bakar (@KBAB51) October 9, 2016

To which Khalid retweeted with a strict warning that he would have zero tolerance for Jamal Yunos’ ‘seditious’ tweet. Since the Red Shirts are known to be pro-government, and Khalid is considered by some to go easy on pro-government activists, plus he is not exactly the biggest fan of Bersih, and the Red Shirts are totally anti-Bersih, KBAB’s response towards Jamal Yunos’ threats might seem surprising to some? Plus we gotta give him snaps for telling an Umno exco man, don’t teach the cops how to do their job (because the guy had criticised him for arresting Jamal).

Then againnn, it IS PDRM’s main job to preserve the peace and security of the country. So when someone tweets, “Saya berjanji Tragedi 13 May akan berulang” and “parang terbang akan terjadi”, it would be their job to investigate, as Khalid had done with several other tweeters (here, here and here).

3. When he probed Minister Ismail Sabri for encouraging racial boycott

Former Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri posted on Facebook urging Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses that that have been raising their prices indiscriminately, in February 2015. Ordinarily, there’s nothing wrong with advising consumers to avoid profiteers…but why the need to talk about race? When you add race to it, people get

Of course, people’s reactions to it were a lot more, uhm, expressive and fiery than R2D2’s. Wheww somebody call the Bomba and put out that fire!

So Khalid assured the public that the police would investigate Ismail Sabri under the Sedition Act (the Act was still around at the time). So who said IGP is soft on gomen ministers? Who said, who said? BUUUT ehh, isn’t it the police’s job to do so, in the interest of preserving racial harmony in the nation? So of course they would have to probe the person who stirs up R2D2’s #feelings. Oh. Oklor.

Unfortunately, police investigation is not punishment (erm, this is debatable according to some people). What we mean is Ismail Sabri has not been charged for anything. To update you on what has happened, all he did was give a statement, two years later it went to the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s (DPP) office…….and that’s it! Speaking of Ismail Sabri…he’s the guy who launched Low Yat 2.0. And speaking of Low Yat…

4. When he hauled up Papagomo and Ali Tinju during the Low Yat incident

So we all remember the 2015 Low Yat incident and how depressing it was to see Malaysians turn it into a racial fight, even though it was a case of a thief making off with an Oppo phone. Before the cops told everyone to calm down and clarified fact from fiction, the whole thing escalated because of some irresponsible people’s postings.

One of them was pro-Umno blogger Papagomo. He had allegedly posted a picture of a guy he claimed to be a victim of the Low Yat brawl. The man was actually an injured accident victim! For allegedly spreading unverified information, IGP hauled Papagomo up with a bunch of other people, including Ali Tinju.

“These stories are all made up and some social media users have been making it worse by spreading it and speculating further. One of them is Papagomo and few others. I have ordered that they be hauled up and we will take immediate action.” – Khalid, The Malay Mail Online

However, there are no reports of these Papagomo facing any repercussion. He was released from lockup after four days and that was all.

Ok, you prolly know where we’re going with this… haiyo CILISOS it’s KBAB’s job la to arrest people for spreading false news! It is an offence under the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998, Section 75!

5. When he gave Bersih the ok to rally

Traditionally, you could say IGP Khalid and Bersih have not had the warmest of #feelings towards each other. The top cop has warned them that the police would use tear gas and water cannons on rally-goers, he has accused them of stoking racial fire, and arrested their former Chairperson Maria Chin. So we don’t expect they’ll be inviting each other to tea parties any time…ever.

Despite having made statements against them, he surprised everyone when he said he would allow Bersih to rally in 2016, UNDER THE CONDITION that they don’t call for the PM to step down. Khalid explained that ALL rallies including Bersih fall under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012, so provided they don’t get too wild like frat boy parties, then it’s lawful. Omg pop the champagne… no wait, cork it back, once again, he’s just following the PAA law.

Heh. heh. Actually KBAB is just doing his job following the law

As we know IGP Khalid has generally been seen as a guy with pro-government stances. He’s been accused of double standards – going easy on certain people (like not arresting Jho Low, people at the the cross protest he didn’t arrest anybody for inciting fear [he was taken off the case later coz his brother was involved], Ridhuan Tee and everything he says, etc.), while being hard on certain others (detaining Maria Chin under SOSMA and Eric Paulsen for Jakim comments for instance).

So these above instances where Khalid seems to have done the opposite surprised us. K la they are not a lot. Can count with one hand.

But at the end of each point, we noted that even when Khalid appeared to have surprised us, he was simply following the law. The PAA allows Malaysians to rally peacefully, so he cannot say no to either Tangkap MO1 or Bersih, as long as they have submitted the proper documents to give PDRM notice and make sure they don’t get violent. It’s his role to maintain peace and security, so he is also memang supposed to investigate Ismail Sabri, Jamal Yunos, Papagomo and Ali Tinju for making statements that could incite violence.

Top cops, like Khalid and anyone who succeeds him, are expected to act without fear or favour of the government, stressed lawyer S.N. Nair on the independence of the police. “He is answerable to the law and to the law alone.”