The Langkawi MP said he had selected Hamid out of confidence in the then Special Branch deputy director's capabilities to restore the police's image which had been tarnished by corruption.
"I met him before he (Abdul Hamid) retired (in 2018)... he said in the police force there was a lot of corruption, graft and he was the number two in the Special Branch (at the time).
"He was due to be appointed Special Branch director but he did not want the job because of corruption and graft," Mahathir said in an interview with Malaysiapost last night.
"So I thought, not many people were willing to take up early retirement over an opportunity for a promotion, but when he did that, I thought he would do a good job (as IGP).
"That is why even though he was a junior, even though he had retired, I called him back to be the IGP," he added.
On May 3, Hamid ended his contract as IGP and handed over power to his deputy Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.
Several days prior to his retirement, he launched an attack against Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, exposing alleged attempts to interfere in the police's internal affairs.
This was on top of claiming that Hamzah had abused the police for his political benefits.
Commenting further, Mahathir commended Hamid's attempt to crack down on corruption within the force.
"Throughout his time as IGP, quite a number were arrested for graft, something that never used to happen. Maybe there was not a lot of corruption then but there is now," he said.
Mahathir added that such alleged interference by a minister should not have occurred.
"It should not happen. I had good ties with the IGP but that doesn't mean we want to overpower them.
"So, there can be good ties between a minister and IGP, under the condition there is no abuse," the nonagenarian said.
Source: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/573721
