Beefing up the whole police force?

DAP National Deputy Chairman and MP for Kepong Dr Tan Seng Giaw calls on the Home Ministry to consider beefing up the whole police force, instead of just the top echelon, to make it effective.

We shall feel proud if our police force can be one of the best in the world. Let us work towards this objective.

Dr Tan comments on a media report on 19.10.2009 that the Royal Malaysian Police will have three new assistant inspectors-general of police (AIG) after a major restructuring exercise next year.

We need to know the details of the restructuring. It is true that the police has to be streamlined to improve its efficiency such as in the forensics and prosecution of cases.

Apparently, the creation of six new departments in addition to the existing 8 is part of the 100,000-force's Five-Year Plan launched by Tun Abdullah Badawi three years ago. Yet, we still have not known to what extent has the force been able to implement the 10 strategic bases stated in the Royal Commission Report 2005. Although the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) mentions over 90% of the 125 recommendations of the Commission have been implemented, we would like to know the difficulty of completing the remaining ones.

We can see that there are encouraging signs of better spirit in the force. In the last three years, the number has increased from over 80,000 to 100,000 personnel. It would be a good thing if the IGP can keep us posted on how he keeps discipline among the personnel. What attempts have been made to get rid of the image that some in the police indulge in irregular activities during road blocks and rounding up of immigrants.

Beefing up the whole force instead of just the top few officers would mean a great deal to the public. We must instil integrity and efficiency in the force.

Dr Tan Seng Giaw