SEPANG: The offer to join a police operation against armed criminals is meant solely for Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president N Surendran.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said however, the Padang Serai member of parliament (MP) should sign an indemnity agreement first in the event of risks during the operation.
He said Surendran and his lawyer had contacted Bukit Aman CID director Datuk Hadi Ho Abdullah on the details of the indemnity agreement and other procedures.
He said the police would contact Surendran when carrying out any operation, adding that the MP must be prepared to be called at any time, including late at night or the wee hours of the morning.
“The offer is for Surendran only. Not open to the public or other elected representativs. I congratulate him for his willingness to accept our challenge,” added Khalid.
He was speaking to reporters when met before departing for Cartagena, Colombia to attend the 82nd Interpol General Assembly at the KL International Airport (KLIA) here yesterday.
Prior to this, Khalid had assured Surendran – who criticised the police for allegedly acting excessively in combating armed crimes – that adequate protection would be provided in the form of body armour if the MP accepted the offer.
Meanwhile, the IGP said he regretted that Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s statement on ‘shoot-first-talk-later’ had been politicised and distorted by certain quarters.
He said the statement actually urged policemen to defend themselves when faced with armed criminals.
“When our lives are at stake, we have no alternative but to defend ourselves,” he said, and advised the public against believing wholesale those portal news which deliberately sensationalised and twisted a story.
On the Interpol general assembly involving police chiefs worldwide at Cartagena from Oct 21-24, Khalid said it was important to collectively reduce crime.
“Currently, crime is borderless, so I feel it is very important for us to meet and get to know one another in tackling cross-border crimes,” he noted. — Bernama