ALOR GAJAH, March 9 — The Defence Ministry (Mindef) has assured it will look at all factors, including the separation of powers, so investigations related to abuse of power by the Malaysian Armed Forces are conducted more openly and transparently.
Its deputy minister Adly Zahari said the ministry has its own process and standard operating procedure (SOP) in giving justice to the parties involved when an issue arises, especially related to the problem of misuse of power by any party regardless of rank.
“We at the ministry do not deny receiving all reports, whether internal or external, including involving police reports, and because of that internal level investigations are very important.
“If there is anything related to certain officials, we first set aside the authority of those officials so that the investigation can be carried out independently while this victim can recover from the trauma,” he said to the press reporters after attending the Alor Gajah Parliament Rahmah Carnival at Dataran Keris Alor Gajah today.
The media previously reported the Malaysian Army (TDM) confirmed receiving a report regarding the alleged abuse of power and the use of force by a senior TDM officer in Sarawak against another officer.
TDM headquarters said a police report had been made by the victim on Sunday (March 3) following the alleged incident, which occurred while the victim was undergoing training at the formation level. The report has since gone viral on social media.
It said that, as an action, the senior official concerned had been released from government duties to enable TDM to carry out a transparent and comprehensive investigation.
Commenting further, Adly said Mindef has always been open to receiving all reports and will conduct internal investigations related to matters raised.
“Since the beginning, we have received reports, and if there is a party who is not satisfied after the investigation has been carried out, he can take it to the ministry, or there are other processes that can be done, including the separation of powers according to the authority or the Armed Forces chief himself,” he said.
— Bernama
