Former Inspector General of Police Hanif Omar was in the limelight today when BN backbenchers were stirred by Lim Kit Siang's attack on the current administration's failure to curb corruption.

Arguments started when Lim borrowed Hanif's words - as written in his column in a daily - to refer to the corruption menace, especially in the police force.

Lim said that corruption was rampant in the country and that Hanif's testimonial was a strong evident as support to his (Lim's) attack on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's administration.

BN backbenchers almost instantly got into action to defend the government and the prime minister and they did so by attacking Hanif.

Bung Mokhtar (BN-Kinabatangan) started the ball rolling by saying that Hanif was merely making accusations without any evidence.

And then Mohammad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) asked what Hanif had done in his tenure as the IGP.

"Is he really good? What has he done as IGP?" asked Mohammad Aziz.

Lim had the task of defending the former top civil servant by stating that Hanif had been at the helm of the police force for almost 20 years, making him the longest serving IGP.

"He said that 40 percent of top police officers are corrupt. If a former IGP said this, is it not evident that corruption is rampant?" noted Lim.

Hanif's integrity in question

Once again the BN backbenchers jumped at this, with Badruddin Amirudin (BN-Jerai) questioning if Hanif was not corrupt.

"Are you telling me Hanif is not corrupt? He is the deputy chairman of Resorts World Bhd in Genting, a gambling hotel. Is this right? What kind of a Muslim is he? A Malay, Muslim would not do all this things," he said.

"If I was him, even though I don't have food, I will not do it. If he wants to talk about corruption, where is his integrity?"

Badruddin continued with his lashing, stating that Hanif lacked integrity.

"As a Muslim, I have the right to criticize him. The hotel ( Resorts World) is a gambling organization. What kind of a Muslim is he?"

"When he was the IGP, the police officers under him suffered. Their welfare was neglected. Are you championing this guy?" he asked Lim.

Lim responded by saying that he was not defending Hanif but the message which he carried.

At this juncture, the speaker told all the MPs to calm down, putting an end to the argument and to the proceedings which was adjourned to tomorrow.

In his Sunday Star column on Aug 12, Hanif argued that 40 percent of senior police officers could be arrested for corruption strictly based on their lifestyles alone.

The article evoked fury from the current IGP, Musa Hassan while various civil society groups and opposition political parties applauded the expose.