KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia's top police official resigned Thursday, saying he was taking full responsibility for the beating of the sacked deputy prime minister while in police custody.
Inspector-General of Police Abdul Rahim Noor, in a statement put out by the national news agency Bernama, said his resignation would be effective Friday.Abdul Rahim said that "I, as the inspector-general of the Royal Malaysia Police, assume full responsibility" for the Sept. 20 beating of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the night of his arrest.
Assuming "full responsibility" was not enough for opposition leaders and activists.
"This is a very clever, crafty, cunning way of avoiding personal responsibility, by saying I take responsibility on behalf of the police," said Chandra Muzaffar, head of International Movement for a Just World group.
Lim Kit Siang, the opposition leader in Parliament, said Abdul Rahim's resignation came too late.
"The resignation would have been honorable if made three months ago," Lim said. "The question of who hit Anwar is still there."
Abdul Rahim's resignation comes the day after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he may seek an independent investigation into Anwar's beating.
Anwar was fired on Sept. 2 by the 73-year-old Mahathir, who said his deputy was morally unfit for government. After leading massive political reform rallies, Anwar was arrested. He said that hours after his arrest, police punched and kicked him into unconsciousness.
Anwar, 51, appeared in court nine days later with a black eye and bruises on his neck and arms, shocking the public. He is on trial for charges of abusing his power to cover up illegal sexual activities, allegations he denies.
Mahathir, who has been in power 17 years, suggested at the time of the beating that Anwar may have inflicted some of the injuries on himself to win sympathy.