Malaysian police going all out to weed out bad cops

Kamal Affendi Hashim said the constant public criticism against the police was uncalled for as the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) has taken various initiatives to contain instances of misconduct among its members and to ensure that its image remain untarnished.

He said members of the police force, including high-level officers, found guilty of misconduct or criminal action have to face the necessary legal consequences.

The setting up of the Integrity and Standards Compliance Department (JIPS) at PDRM in July 2014 was ample proof that it was serious about combating wrongdoing among its members.

The department was set up to enhance the integrity of the police and ensure that they complied with the standard operating procedures.

"JIPS identifies errant policemen or officers and takes stringent action against them... if necessary, legal action is taken against them without fear or favour," said the crime analyst.

Kamal Affendi was commenting on recent reports which quoted Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar as saying that the three policemen who were found to be involved in the kidnapping of a woman in Lahad Datu, Sabah, were nothing but "bad apples".

Khalid, who admitted that the incident had smeared PDRM's name and credibility, gave his assurance that none of the offenders would be protected and that JIPS would act sternly against all those who broke the law.

On Jan 6, three masked men kidnapped a Suluk woman, aged 44, at her house in Kampung Silam, using an unnumbered white Ford car.

The kidnappers had demanded RM50,000 from the victim, a fishmonger. Five days later, four suspects were detained by police in relation with the case, and three of them were found to be policemen – two were corporals with the general operations force while the third was a constable at the Lahad Datu district police headquarters.

Although the three cops' gross misconduct has been exposed, the public appears relentless in its criticism of the police force, claiming that the police has the tendency to conceal any wrongdoings by its members.

This, said Kamal Affendi, was far from the truth as PDRM always acted fast when it came to taking action against errant policemen.

"Why should they (PDRM) want to hide it? How would the media have known if it was kept hidden? The police themselves inform the media when one of them is hauled up for misconduct... PDRM doesn't protect any of its members who commit offences.

"Action was taken even against a former IGP, what more ordinary policemen... so what's there for the public to doubt?" he said, when contacted by Bernama.

Kamal Affendi said other government departments, particularly those with enforcement squads, should follow PDRM's example and establish their own integrity departments.

"Besides the police, other departments are also at the receiving end of baseless allegations, hence they should also take the necessary measures to boost their integrity," he said.

Kamal Affendi also urged the public to rectify any misconceptions they may have of the police and refrain from labelling them as negative just because a small number of them were involved in crime.

"Such a label gives the impression that the whole force is guilty of misconduct... one lazy person doesn't make an entire team lazy, and the same goes for the police force.

"I believe that the police are doing their best to change public perceptions, still there remain some people who are not satisfied and are always looking out for shortcomings," he said.

It has been reported that last year, JIPS had received a total of 2,436 complaints involving misconduct, failure to discharge duties properly and inefficiency, among others. Eighty percent of the complaints received were found to be true, according to JIPS Bukit Aman Director Datuk Jamshah Mustapa.