Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must stop the rot in three vital institutions by Aug 31, so that the 50th anniversary of Independence will be meaningful, said DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang.

Lim, in a statement, based this call on comments made by former Inspector-General of Police Hanif Omar (photo) in his column yesterday in The Sunday Star.

"Hanif's article is even more condemnatory of the rot in the police force than the Royal Police Commission report," Lim said.

Hanif had likened the police force, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and the Attorney-General's Chambers as the 'fence that eats the rice', borrowing from a Malay proverb that frames the concept of trust.

He wondered who Malaysians could believe in relation to recent investigation of corruption, when one group of law enforcers is headed by current IGP Musa Hassan (photo) and the other is led by a police director backed by Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Baharum.

Hanif called for implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as an "instrument to get to the truth".

Lim asserted that the heads of all three institutions must hold their heads in shame at "such a sweeping and most valid condemnation by the most famous IGP in the country".

He questioned what Musa has to say about the crime rate and corruption becoming worse than even before the establishment of the Royal Police Commission 45 months ago.

"What has ACA director-general Ahmad Said Hamdan got to say for the failure to arrest and prosecute a single top police officer although '40 percent of the senior officers could be arrested without further investigations - strictly on the basis of their lifestyles' (according to Hanif)?"

"What has the Attorney-General got to say for his total lack of professional commitment in procrastinating on the IPCMC issue for over two years, refusing to submit an IPCMC Bill to Parliament?"

'Send message'

Lim urged all Malaysians to send a clear message to the premier that the 50th Merdeka celebrations will only be meaningful if he summons the political will to check on the three institutions by announcing the formation of IPCMC before Aug 31.

He said the PM and his cabinet should also hold their heads in shame over Hanif's indictment of them.

"The PM is in danger of becoming the worst minister in charge of police in the 50-year history of the nation, with galloping crime and rampant corruption," he stressed.

The interplay between the three institutions surfaced when the AG Abdul Gani Patail ordered the closure of the files on former ACA director general Zulkipli Mat Noor, Musa and Johari Baharum, following an ACA investigation into alleged corruption.

Zulkipli (right) was cleared of 28 charges of graft, Musa was cleared of the allegation that he took RM2 million to release three Emergency Ordinance detainees, and Johari (right) was cleared of the claim that he accepted RM5.5 million from three Internal Security Act detainees.

There have also been speculation of a rift between Musa and Johari after they traded accusations of corruption by the other.

Meanwhile, the New Straits Times reported today that ACA is investigating whether the arrest of a Johor-based businessman was an "abuse of power" by the police.

The businessman - who was banished to Jeli, Kelantan, last Wednesday - was cleared in June of any involvement in illegal gambling, prostitution or drug activities by the ACA as well as by the secret society, vice and gaming division of federal police headquarters at Bukit Aman.

The newspaper quoted sources as saying that commercial crime officers then approached the internal security ministry, which issued an arrest and warrant of detention on July 5 under the Restricted Residence Act 1933.

This was attributed to the businessman's alleged involvement in organising illegal 4D and lottery activities in Johor Baru.

It was also revealed that the same person was at the centre of the bribery allegations posted on the Internet against Musa.