Getting the police service back on track

POLICE reform was one of the national priorities when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister (2003-2009). This led to the formation of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) on Feb 4, 2004; the commission concluded its inquiries in 2005. However, the proposed reforms have yet to be fully implemented.

Even the alarm bells that rang following a murder allegedly involving police officers linked to the security of the prime minister of the day did not convince the powers-that-be of the need to hasten reform.

Then came the explosive allegation by former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador that there is a cartel of crooked cops in cahoots with criminals in the PDRM. Recently, statements made by the Criminal Investi-gation Department director, deputy IGP and current IGP himself, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, imply there is a serious ongoing problem of command and control, leading to ongoing issues of corruption, abuse of power, and inappropriate use of force.

These senior officers called for commanders on the ground to tighten supervision among their subordinates to ensure a higher level of responsibility and accountability.

We have heard all of this before. And it is increasingly worrying to keep hearing it.

There is a solution already, and it lies in the full implementation of the royal commission’s 2005 recommendations, specifically, the formation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

The fact that our most experienced and most tested former IGP, Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar – he was IGP for two decades, from 1974 to 1994 – was part of the commission that recommended forming the IPCMC should have been the cue for the police force to embrace the proposal in good faith. It was the bitter medicine necessary for an embattled force with a public image problem, so it is a shame that Hanif’s experienced foresight was not taken on board.

Instead, the Independent Police Conduct Commission was formed through an Act of Parliament in 2019 but it has been labelled comprised and severely weakened by most of the legal fraternity and Malaysian civil society.

Valuable time has been lost, as more little Napoleons have emerged misusing their authority and police powers, affecting the overall image of the police and destroying public trust and confidence in the PDRM.

I have no doubt that the present top echelon is serious in wanting a clean and efficient police service, as indicated by the decisive actions of several senior officers. However, it is counter-productive for the police to investigate themselves instead of having an outside agency like the proposed IPCMC conduct investigations. Morale and esprit de corp are negatively affected and the force might not be able to respond as well as possible to external threats or critical public order situations.

The effect of short fuses and abuses of power has taken a toll on the PDRM’s image and it will now require extraordinary steps to be taken to rehabilitate public perception – steps that are in line with the royal commission’s recommendations back in 2005.

We must waste no more time in getting the police force back on track for the sake of internal security and public service.

G. SELVA

Ipoh