PUTRAJAYA: Enforcement officers have the right to use their firearms when they feel their lives are under threat while on duty.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali announced this during the launch of the new Guidelines on the use of Firearms (while on duty) 2017.
He said the guidelines were formulated following the death of a female Customs officer who was rammed by a ‘tonto’ in Kelantan while on duty last year.
"Since the incident, I have been thinking that the tragedy occurred due to a lack of knowledge on firearms use procedures among on-duty enforcement officers.
"In December last year, I had instructed the Attorney-General's Chambers' (AGC) Prosecution Division to set up a task force to review existing procedures for the use of firearms at all enforcement agencies in Malaysia.
"The previous guidelines only emphasised how to store firearms in accordance with the Firearms Act. They did not touch on operational procedures," he told reporters after attending the AGC Hari Raya do here today.
Apandi said there were no specific guidelines on how and when firearms should be used by enforcement officers while on duty.
"I hope these new guidelines will serve as a consistent approach for enforcement officers when using firearms while they are on duty," he said.
At the event, Apandi handed the guideline handbooks to representatives of enforcement agencies including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the police, the Customs Department, the Immigration Department, the Wildlife and National Parks Department, the Road Transport Department, the Home Ministry, the Malaysian Border Security Agency and the Prisons Department.
In October last year, a female senior Customs officer died after the vehicle she was in was rammed by a car driven by a ‘tonto’ at Kampung Banggol Chica, Pasir Mas.
She died due to internal injuries and intestinal complications.
It was reported that the victim was on duty with two male colleagues when a car carrying the tonto sandwiched and rammed the back of their car, which caused it to skid and hit a tree.
Following the tragedy, Apandi had said that the AGC would formulate new standard operating procedures on the use of weapons for enforcement officers.