Acryl Sani received the letter from home minister Hamzah Zainudin this morning.

In his final press conference as the nation’s top cop, Hamid said he had thought the appointment letter could be handed over to Acryl Sani on Monday, a day before his contract expires.

“Acryl Sani told me this morning he was invited to receive the appointment letter. I said congratulations.

“I thought it could be done next Monday, but thank God. Who knows, someone else might have ‘potong jalan’ (cut in and interfered). Someone could have brought in an ‘excavator’ and constructed ‘new roads’,” he quipped.

While lawyers have said Acryl Sani’s appointment as the next IGP is disputable, Hamid said he had no plans to challenge this.

“I want to run away from the limelight. I need a breather to do the thing that I love most — farming. It gives me a lot of peace.

“It’s not that I’m afraid or that I’ve chickened out from my responsibility to correct things. I’m not afraid – that word isn’t in my vocabulary. But I need to go back. It’s tiring to stay at the top.”

He expressed confidence that Acryl Sani would continue the fight against corruption in the force, something that he had started, and said that he was leaving it to God and his successor’s judgment.

He maintained no top officer was indispensable, adding that he had “cleared the path” for Acryl Sani, who only had to cut out the remaining “weeds”.

“I endorse him. I had also recommended him (for the post). If he can’t do it (when he takes over), you all are responsible to reprimand him, to tell him that something’s not right somewhere,” he told the media.

He said his principle in helming the top post had always been that it was not his to hold forever, adding that he did not want to overstay his welcome.

He thanked former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his successor Muhyiddin Yassin for giving him the chance to become IGP.

“I also want to thank the public who have painstakingly lobbied for an extension to my contract. Thank you for your confidence in me, but every beginning has an end.”

Hamid said his goal in leading the force was always to improve its integrity and reputation, adding that he always knew it was going to be impossible to fully achieve this goal.

“It pained me to see my own men brought to court (for corruption). However, not all of the Royal Malaysia Police’s future is dark. In these two years, there have been clear signs that our integrity has improved, with many high-profile cases resolved.”

Hamid also said his only regret as IGP was that he failed to visit Sabah and Sarawak during his two-year tenure, even apologising for failing to do so.

“I know that in Sarawak, there are a lot of issues about integrity. It’s not that I missed these things. When I met the Sarawak ministers, I admitted that I couldn’t be there but I was aware that something drastic needed to be done.

“God-willing, something will be done by Acryl Sani,” he added.