ON Labour Day 2019, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad confirmed that acting Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador will succeed Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun as the nation’s top policeman.
Fuzi joined the Royal Malaysia Police as a cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police on Jan 8, 1984, and was appointed as IGP on Sept 4, 2017, taking over from Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar. Fuzi turns 60 on May 4.
Based on observations, arguably in Malaysia today, there are probably two mostimportant, high responsibility and toughest jobs in the public service. They are the inspector-general of police (IGP) and the chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). The job of the chief police officer is not only ranked one of the most stressful but has routinely been considered one of the most dangerous and unpopular.
Police officers are tasked with maintaining order, saving and protecting lives and property within a community. We thank them for continuing to serve for the safety of the public whether or not it rains or shines. But sometimes, it seems like a thankless job as not many say thank you to the police personnel who have performed their duties.
The IGP holds a powerful position. The individual has jurisdiction over the entire country and across many policing competencies, ranging from street to commercial crime.
Looking at the present scenario, the new IGP faces a tough and challenging job in heading and managing the department.
To gain the initial public trust and confront reality, in his first press announcement, Hamid should promise to clean up the force of corrupt practices and aggressively seek to get rid of bad apples who abuse their authority or who tarnish the department’s reputation. The police force must confront the reality that it has officers who are “poisoning the well” and need to be weeded out.
The police force is yet again perceived as the most corrupt institution in the country. In a survey conducted in 2017, about 57 per cent of the Malaysian participants in the TI-M Global Corruption Barometer survey felt that the police department was the most corrupt. However, Thailand (at 78 per cent) and Pakistan (at 76 per cent) were on top of the list in the Asia-Pacific region.
Two years ago, the federal police had arrested at least 21 narcotics police officers in a special operation against rogue cops who were in cahoots with drug lords.
The operation, launched in the first week of May 2017, saw the policemen, including several high-ranking officers, being detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012. The IGP had warned that the police are not going to make any compromise in their fight against such heinous crimes.
In addition, MACC has arrested about a dozen men, including one police station head, for their alleged involvement in a police protection racket for massage parlours in the Klang Valley. It is unfortunate that the police officers who had been entrusted to take action against illegal activities, including prostitution and gambling dens, have been found protecting the operators and syndicates. Corruption is worse than prostitution, as it will tarnish the image of the country and weaken the security. As such no public servant should betray his country by accepting bribes from those syndicates.
Their actions also taint the reputation of the force, and the police officers who are dedicated, hardworking, and conscientious in carrying out their duties in the community.
Hence, Hamid should make sure that our police force does not compromise in its fight against such heinous crimes. The department must strive to improve its image and work hard towards zero tolerance to corruption and be committed in fighting corruption and malpractice at every level because, without integrity, everything the department does is flawed. This is only fair to the members of the force who serve with dedication and integrity. A few bad apples spoil the barrel.
An IGP is more than just another job at the police department. As the head of the entire department, he serves as a public figure in the community. He must display several important characteristics and qualities, as this job requires high integrity, fairness and the ability to be stern. Operating without fear or favour is essential. Nobody should be considered above the law, including high-powered politicians. As a public servant nobody cannot prevent politicians who are trying to interfere, but as an IGP, he can exercise his right of ignoring them, especially when the request is not in accordance with the law.
The IGP needs to carry out his leadership duties by being an example, especially in being commissioned as the highest police officer in the land; he must be “whiter than white”. A good leader must lead by example, maintain high integrity and walk the talk.
The police force should not only focus on attacking so-called quality-of-life offences as a way to combat more serious crimes but also undertake a thorough overhaul of personnel, strategies and training in the department. The police need to consider increasing the entrance level for their lowest level position so that they can face the latest challenges and people’s raised expectations. This will ensure that they have better knowledge to provide their services more professionally.
Balancing traditional training components (technical and tactical aspects of policing) with a broad focus on working with the community as partners to achieve safety is essential. For example, community policing, or problem-oriented policing, as a strategy of policing that focuses on police building ties and working closely with members of the communities should be continued.
Thus, it involves law enforcement agencies and the local populace in effective implementation and criminal justice system. Accountability of both is inbuilt in this working relationship. Today, modern policing is a “people business” and not an “enforcement business”.
The effectiveness of the Integrity and Standards Department (JIPS) has to be relooked and improved to make the law enforcement agency respected and stronger in fighting corruption in the force.
Despite so many efforts made, too many issues remain unanswered and unsolved.
At the launch of JIPS, its director, Datuk Zubaidah Md Ismail, stated: “PDRM is suffering a negative public perception. My aim is to make the public feel comfortable with the police and confident that their complaints and police reports will be handled swiftly, professionally and efficiently.”
The department’s intention is to clean up the police force and it will come down hard on rogue officers, or those charged with dereliction of duty.
The other most important strategy is to continue taking care of the welfare of the rank-and-file officers, and building more quality quarters for them. Some lower-ranking officers working in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Bangsar and Bukit Damansara have no choice but to rent cheap apartments in Cheras. Those who did not get quarters have to spend more than half of their salary to rent apartments.
It can be seen that the police workforce is considered underpaid and overworked. A constable salary’s scale is between RM1,014 and RM3,517 and it’s difficult to survive in Kuala Lumpur. The government needs to seriously consider increasing the force’s budget and rank-and-file officers’ salaries, and provide them with good infrastructure and facilities.
A salary hike may not totally wipe out corruption in the police force but it will definitely help reduce the temptation to take bribes.
All this will go to ensure police personnel continue to provide excellent service to the people.
There is no denying that there is an effort to malign the force by certain members of the public.
But Hamid should identify the reasons behind such a negative public opinion about the force.
He must address and rectify the demoralisation of officers and men immediately. The police are also subject to laws and regulations enshrined in the Constitution. The public must learn to respect the police again with this new leadership. This can be achieved with the public working together with the police force.
Moving forward, for the police force to regain public confidence, every officer needs to continue to work professionally, without interference from any parties and more importantly, each must perform his duties without compromising integrity. By doing this, they will regain public trust. Keep politics out of policing and there should be no political inference in the police administration.
Definitely, there is room for the force to improve policing standards, enhance professionalism, and engender consistent respect for law enforcement personnel.
Hamid’s past experience in the force and Special Branch can be put to good use in terms of strengthening the police force and dealing with the many new threats to our security, including with regard to the Islamic State.
Improve supervision skills, monitoring, managing control and integrity level of the force. He is known as man of smart words, professional and hardworking.
The people want to be proud of their police force and they deserve to be. Let’s all work together to make this a reality.
Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar is president of the Malaysian Association of Certified Fraud Examiners