JASIN: Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Jusoh has lashed out at an “ill-intentioned” video claiming he had struck a deal with a businessman to dispose of the century-old Melaka Tengah police headquarters building in Bandar Hilir for commercial purposes.
The Melaka Chief Minister said the video uploaded on social media was misleading and meant to smear the reputation of the state government.
“Those behind the video made false accusations. The suggestion to transfer operations from the building to a government-owned building at Batu Berendam in Melaka Tengah district was meant to provide comfort to police officers and personnel.
“The building’s condition is reported to be deteriorating and the suggestion to transfer the operation was made during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit there on Feb 9 where the process of relocating to a temporary site was expedited,” he said after launching the Community Policing programme at the Jasin police headquarters here on Monday (Sept 9).
The event was also attended by Melaka police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Zainol Samah and other top state police officers and state executive councillors.
The Chief Minister also received a spent mortar bomb as a special gift from Melaka police during the event.
Ab Rauf said the recommendation to shift the operations was aimed at turning the century-old building into a museum which would be the second gallery to showcase the police force’s past achievements beside the existing one located at Bukit Aman.
He said the building was built in 1924 during the British era and there were no deals to sell the heritage building (belonging to the federal government) to a third party.
“The intention of shifting the headquarters is purely to ensure the safety of the police personnel and members of the public as it’s hazardous for occupation.,” he said.
Ab Rauf said he has admired the police force since he was young and he always respected the contribution of the force to ensure the safety of the people as well as the security of the country and also maintaining the peace.
This was the first time Ab Rauf responded to the video that surfaced on Sept 2 alleging that the new headquarters in Batu Berendam was unsafe and lacked a Certificate of Fitness for Occupancy (CoF).
The video also claimed the Chief Minister had sold the building to a businessman.
On Sept 3, DCP Zainol told media that his men are investigating the act of uploading a video to TikTok allegedly making false claims against the shifting of IPD to the new site.
He also said the facts presented in the video claiming that the new building is unsafe for occupation were untrue as the temporary site is certified safe with a CoF issued by the Melaka Historical Melaka City Council in 2003.
DCP Zainol said that the eight-storey temporary building was put into use after the current building’s ageing structure required overly high repair costs and the facelift was economically unfeasible.
He said there were also complaints from his men and the local community about the deteriorating condition of the building.
DCP Zainol said that an investigation paper has been opened under Section 500 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Separately, Ab Rauf commended the police for ensuring the safety of tourists with zero crime cases reported at tourist destinations in Bandar Hilir.
He added there was not a single case of pickpockets or other criminal elements reported at popular tourist spots, especially at the Stadthuys building which had turned visit Melaka Year 2024 into a successful programme.
