Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan's Freudian slip of wanting to pull his men off the streets amid criticism over Monday's shooting of a 14-year-old has only served to further inflame the public outcry against the men in blue.

Yesterday, Musa told reporters that he can instruct his officers to not enforce the law, if that is what the public wants.

He also reportedly defended his men by saying that the 2am incident occurred in the dark and that there was no way for the officers to know that they were targeting a teenager.

NONE Aminulrasyid Amzah ( left ) was shot in the head in Shah Alam after he allegedly ignored police calls to stop the car he was driving.

When contacted, Bar Council president K Ragunath said that the police cannot pick and choose when they want to serve the people.

"It is the duty (of the police force to protect citizens), it is not a favour that they are doing," he said.

He added that Musa's defensive statement may hinder the force from viewing the matter professionally.

"They keep defending the indefensible. They should accept that there are some bad hats (in their force), and face their mistakes head on," he said.

Centre for Policy Initiatives director Lim Teck Ghee likened yesterday's statement as a case of "shooting from the hip".

He added that the police chief's statement has further implications on the attitudes of members of the police force.

"The teen shooting is an isolated case, but the IGP's reaction to it may serve to embolden those who take it lightly," he said.

"The threat to pull police off the streets is childish and irresponsible. I hope he withdraws and the government reprimands him for it.

"The outgoing IGP has brought down the image and integrity of the police force on many fronts; including most importantly on police reform.

NONE "His successor needs to put police reform in the forefront of his agenda."

How the police chief handles the matter may affect, in particular, the outlook of his successor, Lim said noting that Musa ( right) is approaching the tail end of his contract

Cabinet should censure Musa

Members of both sides of the political spectrum also hit out at the top cop for "confusing the issue".

"The people want the police officers to take their job seriously. What they do not want is for them to be trigger-happy," said DAP Klang MP Charles Santiago in a statement today.

Santiago agreed with Ragunath, by saying that Musa's statement undermines police assurance of a fair investigation into the shooting.

"Dodging questions about his men who have behaved like they were above the law is completely unbecoming of Musa and clearly reflects the never-ending hypocrisy of the police force," he said.

Santiago also called for Musa's resignation, echoing the harsh blows by DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, who accused the police chief of "insubordination".

On the BN side, Gerakan secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow took a swing at the Musa, saying that "such a nasty response is unacceptable".

He added that Musa's statement could be construed as threatening the public for questioning the shooting, and urged the Cabinet to censure IGP for delivering such a threat.

"Gerakan wants the investigation into (Aminulrasyid's) death to proceed without fear or favour.

"We hope the IGP would not be emotional when dealing public criticisms," he said in a press statement.

'IGP must resign or face demos'