Mahathir never interfered in my work, says ex-IGP

Former inspector-general of police Rahim Noor has claimed that Dr Mahathir Mohamad never interfered in his work, despite allegations of the former premier having a tight control on key agencies and institutions during his tenure.

According to Rahim, he felt comfortable working with Mahathir because the latter was a professional.

“For 10 years that I was director of the special branch and IGP, I always felt at ease.

“There was no interference or disruptions, Mahathir understood that what I was doing was for the country and security (purposes),” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.

Rahim said this included the infamous Operasi Lalang as well, which saw scores of opposition leaders and activists detained under the now defunct Internal Security Act.

In early 2014, Mahathir had denied that he was the home minister at the time, adding that he was also abroad during the 1987 crackdown.

Following this, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, who was among those arrested, accused the former premier of suffering from “selective amnesia” and attempting to disavow his role in the incident.

Mahathir later admitted responsibility, although he denied masterminding the arrests, which critics claim was an abuse of power to silence dissent.

“Even if the decision was made by somebody else, it is in the cabinet and I accept responsibility. What we did was to ensure stability and peace in this country,” he had said.

Mahathir and Lim have since buried the hatchet and joined hands in the Citizens’ Declaration against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.    

Meanwhile, Rahim, who was appointed police chief in 1994 was forced to resign five years later after being found guilty of assaulting ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim in custody.

When Anwar appeared in court with a black eye then, Mahathir, who sacked him in 1998, had speculated that the injury could have been self-inflicted to gain public sympathy.

“It's not impossible because he will get plenty of mileage if he showed he was abused by police,” he had said.

Other panellists at the forum titled ‘Siapa lebih berkuasa: Pentadbir atau ahli politik? (Who is more powerful: administrators or politicians?’) included former Dewan Rakyat Speaker Adam Kadir and former Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman.- Mkini