Saifuddin defends ‘no report, no probe’ over Akmal’s sword photo
Published on: Thursday, April 04, 2024
By:
FMT, Mohamad Fadli
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said he trusted the police’s expertise and decisions. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has defended the police for not initiating an investigation in the absence of a report over Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh wielding a sword.
At a press conference here today, Saifuddin said he trusted the police’s expertise and decisions, adding that he did not want to “enter the police’s territory”.
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“I believe the police know what they’re doing,” he said.
However, he said the police may file their own report over any case and launch a probe thereafter.
Earlier this week, Senator Ti Lian Ker questioned why Akmal had yet to be investigated for sedition over the photo, which carried the caption: “No matter what, we will not waver from our stance. Better to die standing than live kneeling.”
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Razarudin Husain told FMT the police had not received any report on Akmal’s photo, posted on Facebook.
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Razarudin said that according to standard procedure, the police will only initiate an investigation if a report is lodged.
The IGP drew criticism from rights group Lawyers for Liberty and former law minister Zaid Ibrahim, with Zaid questioning if there was such a law that the authorities cannot initiate an investigation in the absence of a police report.
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Zaid said that when he was charged with insulting the then prime minister in 2015, the report was not lodged by a member of the public but by a policeman.
Migrant visa application deadline extended to April 21
Separately, Saifuddin said the government has agreed to defer the deadline for employers to apply for “visas with reference” for migrant workers from March 31 to April 21.
However, the May 31 deadline for employers to bring in these migrant workers once the visas are granted remains.
He said this decision was taken as applications for the visas, also known as calling visas, had not been filed to fulfil the quota for 132,000 migrant workers.
“This extension will give genuine employers the opportunity to complete the process and obtain their ‘visa with reference’ approval letters swiftly.”
Last month, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) said the March 31 deadline to obtain the calling visas was “sudden and hasty”, leaving manufacturers unable to meet manpower requirements.
FMM said firms had planned their migrant worker intake in stages according to their project schedule, and the decision could lead to cancelled orders or financial penalties for late delivery of orders due to manpower shortage.
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