Going shopping to be a ‘cop’

No longer exclusive: Some of the police accessories that are openly sold.

PETALING JAYA: The easy availability of police apparel and accessories to civilians became the talk of the town following the recent arrest of two bogus traffic policemen acting as outriders to a convoy.

I was assigned to go on a shopping spree to see exactly how easy it was to purchase items supposedly exclusive to the police force.

Dressed in just a pair of black aviators, plain black T-Shirt and a pair of jeans, I was greeted with a “Ya tuan, mau cari apa?” (Yes sir, what are you looking for?) by a foreigner manning a uniform shop in Pekan Sungai Besi, an area popular with police, the armed forces and other uniformed enforcement agencies.

A police uniform cost RM150, the three-stripe Sergeant insignia was RM20, an Inspector peak cap RM120, a police leather belt RM50, a service ribbon RM20 and a police reflective vest RM50.

The storekeeper packed every­thing without a single question and even told me to come again.

I went to another shop two streets away to place an order for a Superintendent uniform. After the tailor, who was also a foreigner, recorded my measurements, I was told to write down my name, police ID number and the station I was based at.

When I told him I was not a cop, he was shocked and told me that he was only allowed to make uniforms for those who show their police ID.

“Tak boleh jual abang. Nanti bos saya marah. You pi tengok kedai lain (I can’t sell it to you. My boss will scold me. Go see other shops),” he said.

Next, I went to the Pertama Complex in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, another popular stop for enforcement personnel. There were easily more than 20 outlets selling such uniforms.

On the first floor of the complex, I looked through the police vests and outrider jackets.

The friendly shop assistant said the outrider jackets were going for between RM200 and RM300, depending on the design, which were mainly in blue and fluorescent yellow.

A vest usually worn by the police motorcycle patrol unit (URB) was RM110.

Without even confirming if I was a cop or not, she asked if I wanted the police logo, integrity crest and the “Polis” velcro patches to go with the vest. They all came free with the vest.

Only when the sale was confirmed did she whip out a form to register my name and police ID number.

When told it was for personal use, she became reluctant to sell but relented when shown the money.

“I can sell it to you but please make sure you don’t wear it outside.

“If you wear it outside, please take off the police logo and ‘polis’ word behind.

“I’m just afraid that if anything happens, we’ll be in trouble. Whatever it is, just don’t say you bought it from this shop,” she said.

I smiled and left, proceeded to another shop where I bought a set of accessories for the police uniform for RM100.

Again, I wasn’t asked to show a police ID for the purchase.

Four other shops in the same complex did not allow me to make any such purchases when I told them I was not a policeman.

“It’s hard for me to sell you without recording,” a shopkeeper told me when I attempted to buy a police reflective vest.

At a vehicle accessories shop in Sentul, a decent set of siren and microphone which sounded similar to those used by the traffic police was going for RM70.

Although there was no apparent obstacles to buying the blue beacon and strobe lights, most shops did not have immediate stock of it.

“It’s exactly the same as the ones used by the police. Very useful for convoys. You can order first. We’re not sure when the stock will arrive,” a man who looked to be in his 30s said.

At the end of the day, my haul was a complete sergeant uniform, an Inspector peak cap, two police reflective vests and a siren.

I got a model to put on the uniform and told him to walk about in a public area and also to inspect random vehicles, just to see how the man in the street would react.

The members of the public did not notice anything amiss and several of them even acknowledged the presence of the “police”.