DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has challenged Prime Minister Najib Razak to call a referendum on whether Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan's contract should be extended.

A referendum, he said in a statement today, would prove that Malaysians, as well as top police personnel, have lost confidence in the police chief.

"Have a referendum among Malaysians or among the 2,000 top police officers from assistant superintendent upwards and an overwhelming majority will definitely vote for a new IGP," he said.

Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein has been tightlipped on the matter, but there is heavy speculation that the top cop's contract, due to end next month, will be extended for the third time.

"When Musa's extension of service...was announced on Sept 3 last year, former Selangor Police Chief Yahya Udin was quoted by media as saying that the one-year extension should be sufficient for Musa to complete his "unfinished business".

"Now, it would appear that Musa has still got "unfinished work" and he is angling for another extension of service," he said.

The Ipoh Timur MP, who was just as vocal against the extension last year, said a new IGP is needed to inject the force with "dynamism and a reinvigorated sense of purpose".

Otherwise, he said, the force would be hard-pressed to fulfil its three core functions - to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights.

Lim said extending Musa's contract would also be an insult to the police force as it would indicate that that force was short of leadership material.

"Malaysians, including the 100,000-strong police force, just cannot believe that the present batch of police leadership is so short of leadership material that the prime minister cannot find a single one from the topmost 100 police officers to qualify to be the new IGP," he added.