Special Branch brouhaha: Would Azis’ head roll?
PUCHONG: The curtailed access for Special Branch (SB) operatives to attend press conferences held by Sabah’s Warisan can be viewed as a federal – state conflict which may lead to the downfall of Deputy Home Minister Azis Jamman.
To recap the matter, Warisan vice president Junz Wong was reported by the media as saying that the SB will be barred from attending his party’s press conferences if they were uninvited.
“If they want to request for it, they should identify themselves and not pretend to be reporters,” said Junz who is also Sabah agriculture and food industry minister on Saturday.
In response to the ban, the newly minted Inspector General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador defended the presence of the Special Branch officers on the basis of security.
“The police officers, who were there on duty, are not enemies of any party,” he said on Sunday.
“The objective of their duties, whether they are clad in a uniform or plain-clothed, is to ensure the peace and security of a premises or event,” he added.
Of interest is the fact that neither Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin nor his deputy Azis Jamman have commented on the issue.
Azis appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place.
Apart from his deputy minister post, Azis is also Sepanggar MP from Warisan. He is also Warisan youth chief, the party that is barring the Special Branch from being undercover at Warisan’s press conferences.
How would Azis address the Special Branch in his line of work if he follows his party directive? Would he allow the SB at press conferences that he chaired in Putrajaya and not in Kota Kinabalu?
Is he going to go down as a collateral damage as Sabah continues to go ahead on with the police force?
For the record, security issues are not an issue stated in the Sabah’s 20 points. Security issues are under the purview of the federal government.
