The inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar does not want the police force to be dragged into politics regarding the MOI issue.

“I've said this before: that whatever action taken in the US is a civil action. We don't get involved in civil suits.

“I don’t want to meddle in political matters. Don't drag us into politics,” he said.

He said this when asked whether police would initiate investigations after Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan had confirmed that the Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) mentioned in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) civil suit against 1MDB is Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

“Let them (the US) solve the civil action. Why are you so nosy wanting the police to investigate this and that,” Khalid said at a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters today.

Abdul Rahman, in an interview with British media network BBC, had confirmed that MO1 was the prime minister but pointed out that the reason the DOJ did not name him by his proper name was because he was not part of the investigations.

Meanwhile, asked on updates with regard to police investigation into 1MDB, Khalid said the investigation papers have been returned to the police with additional instructions from the attorney-general.

“We will do the necessary based on the instructions. Then we will return the papers back to the attorney-general,” he said.

Khalid also confirmed that police have yet to record statements from parties implicated in the 1MDB issue who are currently overseas.

“To do so we need mutual legal assistance.

“We have started applications through the attorney-general for us to implement phase two of the investigations (but) that takes time due to the process of obtaining mutual legal assistance,” he said.

On another matter, Khalid said any quarter was free to take legal action against the police as it is “a free country’.

Khalid said this in response to three TangkapMO1 student activists who filed a suit against the police at the Ipoh High Court today for allegedly denying them legal access during their arrest last month.

“We will respond to whatever it is (claimed) in the suit. As an authoritative body, we are not free from such lawsuits.

“So we will respond to any suit from any quarter. I, too, have many lawsuits against me,” Khalid added.

The trio - who were arrested outside UiTM’s Seri Iskandar campus near Ipoh last month - are seeking general damage, aggravated damages and exemplary damages.

Inspector Khoo Thean Heng, who is the investigation officer from the Perak Tengah district police headquarters, Khalid and the government were named as respondents.

The students had previously accused the investigating officer of denying them their right to a lawyer during the remand hearing, by allegedly giving false information on the location of where they will be remanded.

The purportedly false information was said to have resulted in the trio being remanded for three days.