The nation's top police officer could be seen as insulting Malaysia's elder statesman, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when he (the IGP) allegedly lied to the public in saying that he sent Malaysian police to meet murder convict Sirul Azhar Umar in Australia.

PAS Information Chief, Mahfuz Omar said Sirul had denied Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar Khalid's statement that he had sent police officers to record Sirul's statement in Australia and this was confirmed today by the accused lawyer Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin.

“With Sirul's denial and that of his lawyer, the question is whether the IGP had lied,” said Mahfuz ( left ) who is Pokok Sena MP.

He further posed whether the IGP was being pressured following Mahathir's assertion that the person who directed Sirul to allegedly murder Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu be discovered.

“Khalid who was caught lying with his statement had indirectly insulted Mahathir who raised the issue. The former premier had stressed the matter should be investigated thoroughly as it would be very crue l for Sirul to die for just following orders.”

“This issue could certainly affect the trust that the Australians and the world have in Malaysia as we now have an IGP who is a liar,” said Mahfuz.

Mahathir had on Thursday written in the blog in reference to Malaysiakini 's exclusive interview  with Sirul.

Still silent after 48 hours

Mahfuz urge Khalid to “stop the charade” and urged him to continue in his job in a fair, professional, and trustworthy manner.

“Stop behaving as if he is an Umno politician who looks after the interests of Umno and BN,” he said.

Meanwhile, DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang described the IGP's failure to name the police officer who had met Sirul showed that the top cop had lied and this was a national embarrassment.

Lim ( right ) said Khalid could apparently freely investigate opposition leaders and civil society activists through Twitter but could not name the police officer or officers who had Sirul, a murder convict and fugitive.

“Khalid’s inability to debunk Sirul’s allegation of being a liar would be equivalent to several weeks of silence in the pre-social media era.

"Khalid’s failure after 48 hours to name the police officers who had met Sirul in Sydney to show that he (the IGP) had not lied is the top national embarrassment of the year. This is a shocking reflection on the efficiency, work ethic and professionalism of the top cop of the country,” Lim, who is Gelang patah MP, pointed out.

IGP must 'come clean'

Urging Khalid to respond immediately and name the police officers as well as the date and time they met Sirul, Lim said failure to do so would condemn the top cop to having lied.

The veteran DAP leader said the matter was very strange as even the Deputy IGP Noor Rashid Ibrahim, knew nothing about police officers sent to Sydney to interview Sirul.

This, he added, was all the more reason for Khalid “to come clean” and keep the Malaysian public abreast of what he knew about the Altantuya murder which Lim described as “the Malaysian crime of the century”. 

Related stories

Umno website:Dr M to attack Rosmah next?

BN MPs want Najib to stand up to Mahathir

No Dr M-Najib rift, firefights Umno man

Kadir points to Rosmah hurdle in ousting Najib

Altantuya murder - the missing links

Sue Mahathir to clear name, Rafizi tells Najib

Perfect PM - out of frying pan into fire for Dr M

All eyes on Muhyiddin as Dr M pressure cooks Najib