The police must be truly professional in all aspects

DAP National Deputy Chairman and MP for Kepong Dr Tan Seng Giaw reiterates that the police must be truly professional in all aspects, trying its utmost to prove to the people that it is not biased either to politicians or anybody else.

On 5.3.2010, Dr Tan responds to the statement by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hasan, who, yesterday said that the police had never conspired with any political party, including the Barisan Nasional (BN), in handling cases.

Tan Sri Musa says: "We have never conspired with anyone and all investigations are done in an apolitical manner."


He said this when asked to comment on a statement by Parti Keadilan Rakyat's vice-president Azmin Ali that the BN had conspired with the police and the Election Commission (EC) in detaining the party's leaders.

The 98,000 police personnel are performing their duties to ensure the security in Malaysia. We hope that. after the recent pay rise, the efficiency, the transparency and the accountability go up.

The police must be paid adequately. Then, they must be genuinely professional, avoiding unbecoming behaviour such as stopping motorists and taking away their identity cards unnecessarily.

There are many aspects of policing. The perception of the public on security is important. The incidence of snatch theiving, robbery, break-in, cheating, kidnapping and murder is perceived as rising. The increase in gated and guarded communities and security companies is seen as a weakness of the police. The mushrooming of sleezy joints and human trafficking is regarded as involvment of immigration departemnt, police and local authorities.

The IGP has stressed that the police are not biased. I hope that he shows clearly that police action, in particular on politicians, is seen to be evidently professional. He must try to dispel the scepticism.

Dr Tan Seng Giaw